Nigel From The Beginning
by steamboat
Summary: Nigel/baby/boarding school/Oxford/Amanda/Trinity/Sydney. There's references to sexual assault, being smacked, beaten, mild swearing, gay men, making love, and blood. This story follows Nigel Bailey's life from birth to just after finding Anne Boleyn ring. PLEASE REVIEW EVEN IN 2013, MANY THANKS!
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own Relic Hunter, Nigel, Sydney, Preston, Amanda, Tony, Stewie, Derek, Cate, Mika (my name for an unnamed character from Relic Hunter) but I have used parts of the stories from the Relic Hunter shows themselves, which I have intertwined in my own story of Nigel's life from birth.**

This is my first, probably my last if I don't get any good reviews, Fanfic, I hope you like it. **Please review if you want more **as I promise, **this is a complete story** and you will not have to wait for years for an ending!!! There are 11 chapters ready to publish. I have taken many comments that "Nigel" has made about himself throughout the **66** episodes of **Relic Hunter** and put them into this story of his life. **How many can you spot?** There are a lot! Oh yes, I chose Oxford as his university, even though, in Buddha's Bowl, he said it was Cambridge, as in most episodes it does say Oxford's where he went. I have slightly up-dated chapters 1 and 2 (7th March 2010)

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**NIGEL FROM THE BEGINNING**

**Chapter One  
The New Arrival**

It was 1979 and Emily and Jonathan Bailey were awaiting the birth of their second child. Their first child, Preston, was already seven years old and they so desperately wanted a brother or sister for him. They'd been trying to get pregnant for five years and really thought it would never happen, so when it did, they were overjoyed.

The Baileys' had gotten the old nursery, in which Preston had spent his first two years of life, repainted in yellow and white, as they'd no idea what sex the new baby would be. They'd hired a decorator/designer to do some of the soft furnishings; such as curtains and cushions and to make a colourful mobile for over the cot.

The Baileys' had always lived in the same house, passing it on from generation to generation and it was now owned by Jonathan, as his parents had died leaving the property to him.

Nanny Wright, or Louisa, as Emily and Jonathan called her, had been working for the Bailey family for many years; she was a trained nanny, who'd originally been employed by the Baileys' to take care of Jonathan's baby sister, Miranda, who unfortunately died of Leukaemia, at the age of nine. The family were absolutely devastated by the tragedy, as was Louisa. Expecting to find herself unemployed, she was overjoyed to be asked by Joan Bailey, Jonathan's mother, to stay on and work as their head housekeeper. Having gotten so close to the family, and because the Baileys' had grown to love her, she was happy to stay on in a different capacity. Several years later, when Preston was born, Jonathan and Emily asked her if she'd mind going back to being a nanny and Louisa was delighted to do that.

Now that Emily was expecting again, Louisa started ordering all the necessary items to make life convenient for a new mother, wanting everything to be perfect.

Louisa was thrilled to be having another little Bailey to look after; however, she was very worried that Preston was unhappy about the pending arrival having overheard him talking with his friends who'd warned him that, when a new baby arrives, the other children in the family get forgotten. Louisa had tried to put Preston's mind at ease, explaining that that would never happen to him, and how wonderful it was to have a brother or sister. Unfortunately, he was taking some convincing. His parents had discussed, in depth, how they would handle Preston's insecurities, deciding they would involve him in everything they did with the new baby, so he'd feel included and have no reason to be jealous.

"Only another month now" Emily said, rubbing her large tummy and looking lovingly at Jonathan.

"I'll be glad when baby Bailey arrives; if you get any bigger you'll be pushing me out of bed!" Jonathan joked. They both laughed, and Emily slapped her husband on the chest and said "stop teasing me; I'm actually not that big, nothing like as big as I was with Preston anyway."

Emily got tired very quickly these days, with the extra weight she was carrying, and said to Jonathan "I just have to go to bed now darling, otherwise I won't be very bright tomorrow when we take Preston to the Zoo."

"OK Em" he said, "I'll walk you up stairs and tuck you in." Just as they'd got to the top of the stairs Emily suddenly felt very uncomfortable and a sharp pain shot through her abdomen causing her to double over in pain. "Are you OK Em!?" Jonathan asked, with concern in his voice.

"Oh my goodness Jon, I think the baby wants to be born!" she said with a shocked expression on her face and holding on to her tummy.

"Don't panic Em, I'll get your bag." Luckily Emily had already packed a bag for when the baby was due, or in case of an emergency like this. "We'll be at the hospital before you know it" Jonathan said, "just breathe like they taught you at those classes we attended." He was trying to keep himself calm, but inside his stomach was in knots, and he hated seeing his beautiful wife in pain.

Of course, because Emily had had a baby before, she initially thought she had plenty of time and cleaned her teeth, brushed her hair and wrote some instructions for Louisa, the fact that she was a month early didn't appear to faze her at all, but inside she was terrified!

"Oh! Ouch! Oh my goodness Jon, that was a big one! I'm definitely having contractions! I guess we'd better get to the hospital as soon possible or I think baby number two will be born in the house!" she said. They rushed down the stairs, Jonathan carrying Emily's bag in one hand and holding his wife's arm with the other. Upon reaching the hallway he shouted for Nanny Wright, who was just giving Preston his supper before sending him off to bed. "Louisa! Louisa! Emily looks like she's gone into labour, can you hold the fort until I get back please!?"

Louisa rushed into the hall and saw them standing by the stairs with Jonathan looking quite shocked and Emily with a pained expression on her face, rubbing her tummy and moaning.

"Don't worry about a thing" Louisa said, hurrying them out of the door, "I can take care of Preston and the house; just telephone me when the little one arrives, I know you're early Mrs Bailey but I'm sure everything will be alright, try not to fret dear."

"I'll do my best Louisa, ooh!" Emily replied.

"Of course we'll ring you Louisa" Jonathan said, as they rushed out the front door and into the car.

They arrived at the hospital about ten minutes later, having had all the traffic lights against them, and rushed into St Thomas' Hospital. Emily was immediately taken to be examined by her obstetrician, Doctor Pine, whom they'd both known personally for several years. Doctor Pine came out to see Jonathan and said "You were right to bring her here now, she's definitely in labour, but don't worry, Emily and the baby are just fine, the baby's coming now whether we like it or not." The doctor looked at Jonathan's worried face and went on, "Jon, we have the most brilliant facilities here for tiny babies and we have highly trained staff, they couldn't be in better hands."

Jonathan felt relieved until suddenly he heard Emily shouting from inside the room where she'd been examined. "Please! I want my husband here with me now! Please get him, I need him, he should be here!"

A very young nurse rushed out into the hallway and asked Jonathan if he was Mr Bailey.

"I am" he said "can I go and see my wife now? I heard her shouting for me."

"Yes please go in, they're about to take her to the delivery room and you can go with her, I assume you'll want to be there at the birth?" the young nurse said.

"I most certainly do!" he said, feeling rather nervous about it but looking forward to seeing his new son or daughter. He ran towards the examination room and saw Emily was already being pushed on her bed into the corridor. As they came out he rushed to Emily's side, caught hold of her hand and held it very tightly. He tried to sooth her, which was quite difficult, as the bed was being pushed so fast he had great difficulty keeping up. Emily looked so scared and vulnerable and Jonathan, who was now quite puffed out, said "you're doing fine darling, don't worry Em, I'll stay with you, breathe sweetie! breathe!"

They'd only been in the delivery room for about ten minutes when Doctor Pine said "push Emily, push, the baby's almost here." Fifteen minutes later the tiny baby was born. "You have a beautiful little boy Emily" he said.

"Do you want to cut the cord Jon?" he asked, offering a pair of scissors to the new father.

"No thank you! I might do something wrong! You do it, please!" Jonathan said, with a look of horror on his face.

"No problem Jon." The doctor said, cutting the umbilical cord. "There you go; all done."

One of the nurses quickly picked up the baby and took him over to the other side of the room where she checked he was breathing properly, had all his fingers and toes and was generally in good health. Smiling as he cried for the first time she put him on the scales and weighed him. "Five pounds three ounces, that's not bad at all Mrs Bailey" she said, as she held the baby who looked absolutely adorable and had lots of dark hair. She cleaned him up while Doctor Pine explained to the new parents that, because their son was early, he would have to stay in the incubator a little longer than a baby who'd been born full term, explaining it was standard procedure and nothing to worry about.

He let them kiss and cuddle their tiny boy for a few minutes and then put him in the incubator, where he'd be kept warm and his breathing could be monitored and controlled. The nurse carefully pushed the glass sided incubator to the side of Emily's bed, where both the new parents shed tears of joy on seeing their special little boy looking so cute.

A few minutes later the baby was taken to the nursery where all premature babies had to go to be cared for. On seeing the look of concern on Emily and Jonathan's faces the doctor explained that theirs was far from the smallest baby he'd delivered and lots of babies smaller than him survived with no problem at all. He was very reassuring and told Emily that as soon as the nurse had cleaned her up, and done the other necessary things following the birth, she must get some rest.

About forty minutes after the baby was born Emily was lying in bed with Jonathan by her side. She was unable to sleep, not because she was worried about the baby's health anymore; it was more to do with what to call him! They'd not previously gotten around to discussing names and after about twenty minutes they'd thought of several; unfortunately, none they both liked. Emily was deep in thought, running name after name through her head, when suddenly Jonathan said "what about Stephen!?"

"Oh no, please!" Emily said "that reminds me of that horrible man who used to work at your office, what about Nigel, after your cousin who died last year?" she suggested.

"Wow Em, what a brilliant idea!" Jonathan said, jumping up off the chair and kissing his wife on the lips "Cousin Nigel would have been thrilled to bits if he knew we were naming our son after him. I do miss him Em and I think Nigel's the perfect name to choose. I've just thought of something too, it's 10th May today so it would have been his birthday in two days time, seems even more appropriate!"

"Yes that's right it would be, oh I'm so glad we both agree on that name" she said with a really big smile on her face, looking lovingly into Jonathan's eyes. She'd always loved the name Nigel and she knew Jonathan had loved his cousin, like a brother; she was just rather surprised that she hadn't thought of the name earlier!

"Yes, Nigel it is! Now Em please try and get some sleep" he scolded, "I'll go and call Louisa and Preston to let them know that all's well, but I think I'll find out where they've put Nigel first before I ring them."

He found the nursery very easily, as you only had to listen and you'd hear the cries of the babies! Nigel's got a good pair of lungs on him, he thought, for someone so tiny! His thoughts then came back to the reason why he'd left Emily and went over to the phone booth which was situated just outside the nursery, and called Louisa.

"Louisa, we have a tiny baby boy, we're calling him Nigel, he has to stay in an incubator for about a week but he's just fine" Jonathan babbled on excitedly.

"Oh that's just wonderful news Mr Bailey, I love that name too! What did he weigh and does he look like either of you?" she asked, secretly hoping he looked like Emily!

Jonathan told her the baby's weight and said "you'll be able to tell who he looks like tomorrow when you come to see him, can you come about 10 o'clock?" he asked.

"Yes, I can have Preston ready by then ... Oh, do you want me to wake him now so you can tell him the news?" she asked.

"No I think it'll be best just to let him sleep if he's already gone to bed" he said, thoughtfully.

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow" Louisa said, putting the telephone down and thinking; I bet Preston won't be in the least bit interested that the baby's been born!

Jonathan stayed all night with Emily, sleeping on and off in the chair by her bed. The following morning, although he was very tired, he was looking forward to seeing Preston and showing him his new baby brother.

Nigel was brought in to see his mother at about 7 a.m. She was so happy to see him and thought he was the most beautiful baby in the world, bar none! It occurred to her, of course, that all mothers think that about their babies, but several nurses commented on how adorable he was. She cuddled her little boy and stoked his head; the joy on her face was a picture. Having had problems breast feeding Preston, who wasn't getting enough milk, she decided she would use a bottle for Nigel. Following his feed he was taken back to the nursery, although Emily wished he could stay longer and looked forward to going home to be with all of her "boys."

Nanny Wright and Preston arrived at the hospital at just after ten, having been met at the entrance by Jonathan. They were taken up to Emily's room where Preston immediately ran over to his mother's bed and said rather loudly "hello mummy, are we going to the Zoo in a minute?"

"No sweetheart" she replied "we can't go now; your new baby brother has arrived and we have to stay here and look after him, he's so tiny and precious darling, you're going to love him."

"Not if it means I can't go to the Zoo I won't!" Preston said, looking very annoyed.

"I'm sorry darling; we'll have to take you another day, you're a big boy now so you should understand that Nigel, that's his name sweetheart, needs mummy and daddy to stay here and take care of him, now come over here and give me a big kiss" she said, holding out her arms to her young son.

"I don't want to give you a kiss! I don't want the baby! I want to go to the Zoo!!" Preston shouted and stamped his feet, beginning to have a tantrum.

"Preston, behave yourself" Emily said, "You know I won't tolerate rudeness! If you continue to behave like that you'll get a smacked backside." He sat on the chair and sulked but he knew better than to protest any further having gotten a threat like that from his mother.

Louisa sat beside Emily watching how Preston was behaving, not feeling one bit surprised as she'd been expecting him to act up. However, wanting to put Emily at ease she said "Preston will get over it; he's just disappointed about the Zoo, I'd take him myself but the decorator's coming back this afternoon to put the finishing touches to the nursery. He's bringing that mobile you ordered, the pictures and the new curtains, which is lucky really as you're going to need the room finished earlier than you thought!"

Just then Jonathan came in and said to Preston "come on old man, come and see your new baby brother, you'll be amazed how tiny he is!"

"I told mummy I don't want to see him daddy" Preston said very sheepishly.

"Why ever not Preston!?" his father asked.

"He's already stopped me going to the Zoo, daddy, and my friends are right, you won't even notice me when you bring him home" he said, with a very sad look on his face.

"That's silly Preston" Jonathan said "you know we'd never forget about you, we love you very much and we're extremely proud of you. Now your new brother's waiting so let's go and see him." He held out his hand to his son, who took hold of it, and they began to leave the room.

"Are you coming Louisa?" Jonathan asked, leaning back into the room.

"I'll be along in a minute, show Preston the baby first" Louisa said thoughtfully.

He gave Louisa a nod, and left with Preston, who was holding his hand but dragging behind.

"That's him" Jonathan said, pointing at the sweetest little thing imaginable, near the window. "Isn't he tiny? You were much bigger than that when you were born; mummy thought she'd had an elephant when you arrived!" He was desperately trying to cheer up his eldest son.

Preston smiled at his father's little joke, and said, with a thoughtful look on his young face "yes I suppose he is tiny, but I still think he'll be nothing but trouble!" He looked up at his father and continued "I will try to be a good boy though and help you and mummy with him when you bring him home. Do you think they'll come home today?"

"Well son" Jonathan said in a gentle voice "I don't think they'll come home just yet, but I'm so pleased to hear that you'll help us when they do. I'm sure you'll grow to love Nigel very soon and he'll love you too, after all, you're his big brother! I'll come home with you and nanny later on and you can come back and see them again tomorrow, how about that?"

"Alright daddy that'll be nice" Preston said, thinking that there was no way he was ever going to love Nigel, even if he was so small.

Jonathan arranged a welcome home party for Emily and Nigel when they came out of hospital and Preston helped with the balloons and streamers. At the party Louisa commented that Nigel looked just like Emily, pointing out also that Preston resembled his father. Preston had been dreading his brother coming home but once he was taken up to the nursery, Preston hardly knew he was there at all. He went upstairs to see him, out of curiosity, a few times on his first day at home, and several more times over the next few days, and began to think it wasn't so bad, after all, having a little brother.

When Nigel was just over a month old Emily got around to taking Preston to the Zoo. As a special treat, because Preston had been so well behaved and had become such a good brother to Nigel, she allowed him to have a ride on an elephant, which he thoroughly enjoyed. At the Zoo Preston bought a fluffy little polar bear for his brother and ran up to the nursery, as soon as they got home, to give him his gift. Nigel immediately cuddled up to the bear and went to sleep and from that moment on Nigel and the bear were inseparable.

The following months were very busy for Emily and Louisa; the time simply flying by with all the feeding, changing, bathing and visits from the nurse to weigh Nigel and check his general health. They included Preston in everything they did with him and he seemed to be very happy having Nigel as a brother.

Emily always tried to take Nigel to the doctors for his inoculations, leaving Preston with Louisa, feeling it was important to give her baby son her full attention after he'd had an injection, as he'd usually cry. However, on one particular occasion, when Nigel's inoculation was due, she had to take Preston with her, as Louisa had a dental appointment and needed some time off.

She carried Nigel into the office to see Doctor Price, taking Preston in with them. Nigel immediately cried upon seeing the doctor, as he had done ever since his first inoculation. Doctor Price asked Emily to hold Nigel very still while he gave him his injection, saying "he certainly doesn't like me does he?!" Nigel screamed very loudly when the needle penetrated his tiny arm and Preston, who'd been watching his baby brother get more and more distressed, shouted at the doctor "you leave my baby brother alone! He's only little why did you hurt him?!!"

"Preston! Preston!" his mother said, trying not to be angry with him "the doctor is only making sure that Nigel doesn't get sick, he has to have the injection sweetheart, you had it when you were little too! Now say sorry to the doctor for being so rude please!"

"I'm sorry Sir I thought you hurt him on purpose" Preston said, still not totally convinced that he didn't!

Nigel stopped crying after about a minute of getting a nice cuddle from his mummy, who said to him, "there's a good boy, it's all over now sweetie" and kissed him on the top of his head. Doctor Price then came over to tickle Nigel's tummy, but as soon as he saw the doctor was about to touch him, he started crying again. "I'm so sorry doctor" Emily said "the boys aren't being very well behaved today I'm afraid."

"Don't worry; it happens all the time, I'm actually very pleased to see that Preston's showing concern for his baby brother. I remember how worried you all were that he'd hate having a new baby around, so it looks like you were all wrong! As for Nigel, well, an injection's not a nice thing, so it's quite understandable that he'd cry and dislike the person administering it. I hope he'll get over his dislike of me when he's a big boy, like Preston though!" the doctor said, looking at the young family in his office, whom he liked so much.

**Five Months**

Preston had always been allowed to go into his parent's bedroom, first thing in the morning; for a cuddle and to play with them. When Nigel was five months old they decided to let him join in the fun. Following this decision, Louisa would go into the nursery at about 6 a.m. change Nigel's nappy, give him his bottle, and then put him back in his cot. At about 7.00 a.m. Preston would come in, pull down the side of the cot, pick up Nigel's polar bear and lift his baby brother out. Nanny Wright was always there to supervise, in case Preston found this difficult. Nigel began to love this time of day, knowing that his big brother was going to take him in to see his mummy and daddy and would squeal, and kick his legs in the air with delight, as Preston pretended to make the fluffy polar bear "speak." Emily loved to tickle her baby, who'd giggle so cutely, making everyone laugh. This family time would last for about half an hour and then they'd all go down for breakfast which their cook/housekeeper would have ready for them.

Nigel was a very happy little baby during these early months and Preston continually showed how much he loved him, realising he was getting just as much attention as he got before his brother was born. Nigel loved to be kissed and cuddled by everyone in the family, especially Preston who liked to tickle him as well. As Nigel got bigger, Preston couldn't lift him out of his cot anymore, so Louisa took over, realising what an important part of the day this was for them all.

Emily and Jonathan both worked, Jonathan was a Professor of Economics and Emily was a Lawyer. Emily had taken time off work during her later pregnancy, and during Nigel's first few months of life, however, as soon as her little son was six months old, knowing he would be fine with his nanny until she got home, she went back to work.

**Ten/Eleven months **

At about ten months old Nigel began to speak a little, his first word being book! His next were mama, nana, dada and peton, as he couldn't quite manage Preston. He seemed to understand everything that was said to him, although his parents wondered if they were making him out to be special just because he was their baby. They weren't, in fact, doing that, as he really was pretty amazing and was super intelligent!

He started walking at eleven months old, having barely crawled at all, forcing his nanny to constantly watch him, as he was into everything! One day Preston forgot to close the back door, when he'd gone out to play, allowing Nigel to wander into the garden where he found some pebbles by the flowerpots and picked them up. Suddenly a large beetle crawled onto his hand, causing him to scream really loudly, as he'd never seen one before, and didn't like! Louisa, on hearing his cry, ran outside where she saw him shaking his little hand and toddling towards the garden gate, which was wide open! She caught hold of him, before he got out, and immediately spoke to their maintenance man who fitted a bolt on the gate

**One Year Old**

When Nigel was a year old the family realised just how bright and intelligent he was. He constantly amazed them by the things he did like changing the channels on the television so he could find his favourite programmes. He didn't watch baby shows at all, preferring documentaries on animals, dolphins and whales. He loved listening to music too, usually classical, and always found the correct channel. The amazing thing was he seemed to know when his preferred shows were on; he couldn't possibly tell the time they thought - no, he couldn't, but he did know that when the clock looked a certain way, a particular programme or show he liked, would be on!

Nigel's most favourite thing to do was look at books, he'd sit for hours flipping through the pages which had lots of pictures in, as well as writing. His mother would watch him sometimes, finding it quite fascinating the way her little boy would study the individual pages. This, at least, gave Emily and Louisa a rest, as they didn't have to continually run after him, as he'd be quite happy just sitting on either of their laps "reading". He would also sometimes do jigsaw puzzles, which were made for six year olds, piecing them together very quickly. Unfortunately, however, Preston began to notice that Nigel was being paid a lot more attention now that he was walking and talking and taking an interest in many things, and this made his jealousy surface again.

Emily and Jonathan, although being pleased that their little son was exceptionally bright, wanted to ensure that Nigel had a normal childhood. They didn't, at this stage, want psychologists and the like poking Nigel about to see how well he would do with this or that test. They knew that if they made too much fuss about his abilities; that could happen, so they kept it in the family for as long as possible. They knew they could afford to pay for a very good education for him, and Preston, so at least they had no worries on that score.

Nanny Wright thought Nigel was just amazing too and having looked after many babies before she looked after Jonathan's younger sister, she knew what she was talking about! She'd simply never come across a more brilliant baby than Nigel, who brought so much joy into her life. She loved Preston dearly but Nigel needed her so much more and she became absolutely devoted to him.

**Eighteen months old**

At the weekend Emily, and sometimes Louisa, would take Preston to the playground, situated on one side of the park. They took Nigel too, so that he'd get some fresh air, but he'd always stay in his pushchair and look at a book. At eighteen months old though, Nigel was getting slightly chubby, probably because he preferred books to running. Neither Emily, nor Louisa wanted him to get too overweight and felt it would be a good idea for him to get some exercise. Thinking he might enjoy the playground rides they pushed him around on the roundabout which, unfortunately, made him sick! The same thing happened on the swings, but he loved the slide, and he liked the sandbox, until he saw a spider crawling in it and screamed to get out!

The playground in the park was set out in two sections; one for the under threes and one for the older children. There was a red fence around the perimeter, with a blue fence dividing the two areas, with a yellow gate in the middle. Preston loved all of the rides and never suffered with motion sickness.

One Saturday Emily and Louisa took the boys to the playground where Emily asked Preston to play with Nigel while she discussed some domestic matters with Louisa. While they were deep in discussion Preston, who'd taken to calling his chubby baby brother Podge, took him over to the area set aside for the older children and forcibly lifted him onto the big roundabout. Nigel shouted with alarm "no! no! I get a bad tummy Peton, no! no!" Preston didn't take any notice of his little brother's cries to let him down; he just pushed the roundabout faster and faster and laughed. Preston clung onto the back of Nigel's trousers, keeping him from falling off, as they went round and round, Nigel feeling woozier by the minute. He cried out as loudly as possible to his big brother "Peton I sick, stop! stop!" Emily and Louisa, on hearing what they thought was Nigel shouting, looked over to check on the boys, but noticed they weren't where they were supposed to be! Following their initial shock, they looked to the other side of the fence, saw what was happening and ran over to the roundabout. Emily stopped it and Louisa picked up Nigel, pushed the hair out of his tearful eyes and noticed he was practically green! Preston thought it was very funny but he soon changed his tune when Nigel turned away from Louisa and threw up all over his shirt!

"You idiot Podge, look what you did!" Preston shouted at his little brother. Nigel just clung on to Louisa tightly, as he hated being shouted at.

Emily and Louisa were both really upset with Preston and his mother said in a very annoyed tone of voice "what on earth do you think you're playing at Preston; you know Nigel can't take roundabouts!!"

"Mummy I'm sorry, I was just having a bit of fun; I thought Podge would enjoy the roundabout if he got over that silly sicky thing" he said, trying to look innocent.

"Well he didn't enjoy it did he young man!?" she said, thinking I just don't believe this!

"No mummy he's such a cry-baby, but just look what he did to my shirt, dirty little boy!" he said trying to make his baby brother look in the wrong.

"You've only got yourself to blame Preston, now you will have no television for a week!" she said, as she handed Louisa a handkerchief.

"That's not fair mummy" he shouted and stamped his foot.

"Would you prefer a smacked backside young man?" she said very sternly.

"No" Preston said very sheepishly, looking down at the ground.

Louisa wiped Nigel's face with the handkerchief and Nigel took it off her and tried to help by wiping his own face and mouth. Louisa put him down on the floor and he went over to his big brother and said "I sorry I sick on you Peton" and he tried to clean off Preston's shirt with the handkerchief.

Preston moved back out of the way of his mother and Louisa and said to Nigel, in a whispered but angry tone, "leave me alone Podge, I won't be able to watch television this week because of you!"

"No, you a naughty boy Peton, you not play nice, why you do it?" little Nigel asked, completely confused by his brother's behaviour.

"Just because, now leave me alone!" Preston said. Nigel walked over to Emily and put his arms up to her so that she would pick him up.

They took the boys home and Emily immediately took Nigel up to bathroom where the last traces of vomit were washed off. When he was nice and clean she carried him to the nursery for an afternoon nap. Pulling the side of the cot down and kissing his forehead, she playfully tickled his tummy and noted, with surprise, that he didn't giggle. He just looked up at his mummy and said, as if he'd been mulling it over "mummy Peton not love me."

"Oh sweetheart, of course he loves you darling, he's just naughty sometimes, now go to sleep and I'll come and get you in an hour or so, you can play with Preston then, alright?" He smiled at her and said "yes mummy." They blew each other a kiss and he curled up with his little polar bear, and went to sleep.

Emily went back down to the drawing room where Preston was wishing he'd not put his little brother on the roundabout, as he was missing his favourite television programme at that moment in time.

"Preston darling, Nigel thinks that you don't love him, that's not true is it?" his mother asked.

"No mummy, I do love him, it's just he's so difficult sometimes, I think he just does things for attention. Why can't he play on the rides like all the other children? He makes such a fuss!?" Preston said, looking quite miserable.

"Preston, Nigel is just one of those babies' who suffers from motion sickness, he can't help it; he certainly doesn't do it deliberately, it's just something he was born with but with any luck he'll grow out of it.

**PLEASE REVIEW**


	2. Chapter 2

**I don't own Relic Hunter or the characters from it**

**Chapter Two**

**Early Years**

**Age Two**

Nanny Wright had given Preston some money for his ninth birthday and he decided that he'd use it to go pony trekking in the beautiful English countryside. His parents thought it would be a good idea to make it a family day out, since they would have to drive Preston to the stables anyway. Louisa decided not to go on this occasion because her brother, Frederick, was in town and she'd purchased tickets for them both to go to the Chelsea Flower Show.

It was a lovely sunny day and the whole family got up quite early so that they could go pony trekking in the morning, and then have a picnic by the Thames, in the afternoon.

Preston was so excited he could hardly wait to get there. He'd bought his own riding hat and boots with the money his parents had given him for his birthday and was all set for a very enjoyable day.

It took about an hour to reach the stables, where they met with Mrs Jenkins, who had twenty two horses which she hired out to pony trekkers. As soon as the Baileys' arrived they went to the reception desk to sign in and then took Nigel with them to collect some riding hats, as they hadn't got any of their own. Having found suitable hats they put them on and went back outside to where Preston was waiting eagerly with a group of horses and Mrs Jenkins.

"Have any of you ridden before?" Mrs Jenkins asked Jonathan as he and Emily walked towards her.

"Only Preston, he's ridden quite a few times, but not recently" he said "Emily and I haven't ridden since we were children."

"No problem at all" Mrs Jenkins replied, "I have all sorts of horses here; some of them are very quiet and are more suitable for people who have little or no experience of horse riding."

She began thinking about which horse would be suitable for each of them when Nigel suddenly started to cough and sneeze quite badly, his eyes puffed up and began to water and he looked like he was going to choke! His parents panicked and asked for some water, but Mrs Jenkins, who'd been running the stables for many years, knew immediately what was wrong with him.

"Oh dear" she said, "poor little Nigel appears to be allergic to the horse hair; or perhaps the hay! I think you'd better take him to the hospital as quickly as possible!"

The two of them didn't need telling twice, they took off their hats and ran to the car, shouting to Preston at the same time to come quickly and get in it. Preston was livid! "We've only just got here dad!" he yelled.

"Sorry Preston but Nigel's sick, we need to get him to the hospital now! Please get in the car!" He hung his head and slowly walked to the car, all the while muttering under his breath about never having any fun and Podge being an utter nuisance.

Emily decided to keep Nigel on her lap, rather than putting him in his seat, as she wanted to make sure he was breathing alright. She put her seatbelt around them both and rubbed and patted his back. Jonathan checked that Preston had fastened his seatbelt and then sped off to the main road. He was doing about 90 mph when suddenly a police car came up behind him with its lights flashing and siren bellowing, indicating Jonathan should stop. He could barely think straight, terrified Nigel would choke before they got to the hospital. However, he considered that not stopping could be dangerous, if the police kept chasing him. He pulled over, his heart beating a mile a minute, and a very annoyed policeman strolled over to them. Jonathan wound down the window and shouted at him "I'm sorry Sir; I know I was speeding but my little son's choking and I need to get him to the hospital immediately!" The policeman looked into the back seat and saw Emily, who was now in tears, holding on to her little son, who was still having difficulty breathing.

"OK Sir; I can see he's in trouble, I'll escort you to the hospital and I'll call them from the car to say we're on our way" the policeman said.

"Thank you so much" Jonathan said, "Can you tell them he appears to be allergic to horse hair or maybe hay?"

"No problem Sir, just follow me." As soon as they arrived at the hospital the doctor was waiting for them and ushered them into a cubicle where Nigel was immediately examined. As they were almost certain it was horse hair, or hay, that caused the allergic reaction, they knew what to give him to relieve the symptoms and before very long he was breathing freely again.

The doctor who'd examined Nigel said to Emily "I'd like to keep him here for a couple of hours, just to make sure he's OK and then you can take him home. You will always have to keep him away from horses, and horse hair in particular, and try not to let him near anyone who's been riding either as even that could cause an allergic reaction."

"Thank you doctor" she said, feeling so relieved that her little boy was going to be alright.

While Nigel was being examined Preston had been waiting for his parents by the reception desk. He was still slightly annoyed with his brother, and thought he was such a pain, but he was a little worried about him too as he'd seen how distressed he was and how badly he was coughing.

After a couple of hours the Baileys' were able to take Nigel home, as he was back to his cute and loveable little self. They didn't stop to have the picnic they'd planned, worried in case they chose to sit somewhere where horses had been. They decided instead to go back to the house and have the picnic in the garden, safe and sound, away from anything that could harm their little son.

Emily and Jonathan told Preston how sorry they were that his special day had been ruined, promising he could go pony trekking another day. They explained he'd have to go with his friends and would have to change his clothes before he came home and went near Nigel. Preston looked at his mother, screwed up his nose and said "mummy Podge is such a wimp, I was never like him at that age!"

"He's not a wimp Preston, he's just a baby with an allergy, and lots of babies, children and adults, have allergies. You're just lucky you don't, young man, Nigel's not so lucky!"

Nigel may have had allergies and motion sickness but he was turning into an amazing child. He loved to be read to and would often take the book from his nanny's hand and study it, sounding out the words with his nanny's help. Nanny Wright, on watching Nigel with a particular book, became convinced he was actually reading! She tried to test him, just in case he was repeating what she'd already told him, by giving him a new book. To her astonishment, he looked through the book and said "cat, dog, apple, top, banana" at quite a fast speed. I wonder if he's just looking at the pictures she thought. I know what I'll do; I'll write a different word on several sheets of paper and see if he can read them, with nothing to prompt him. She wrote down house, car, pig, daddy and Preston, showed the words to Nigel and he got them all right! No doubt about it, she thought, he can actually read!! Louisa couldn't wait to tell someone and the first person she saw, just a few minutes after her discovery, was Preston.

"Preston darling, you'll never guess, Nigel can read! He read out your name!"

"Don't be silly nanny, he's just a baby" he replied feeling quite annoyed.

"I know he's just a baby but watch this" Louisa said, as Nigel read "car, pig, daddy, house, Preston" which she showed him in an entirely different order to the one she'd used before.

Preston was furious, "what a show off he is; I don't want him to get his sticky little fingers on any of my books nanny!"

"Preston, he's two years old, he wouldn't know how to show off in the way you mean and he won't want to have any of your books just yet, although you could read him some of the stories. I think he might enjoy something like "Treasure Island" or "Oliver Twist", especially if you put on a funny voice and pretend to be some of the characters. There's no need for you to worry about him touching your books either, he's ever so careful with his own."

"Nigel, Nigel, Nigel, that's all I hear any more" Preston protested. "Oh Nigel's won the beautiful baby contest, again, Oh Nigel's really clever, Oh Nigel can read, give it a rest nanny!"

"Preston, that's very rude! You keep a civil tongue in your head young man; gentlemen don't speak like that! You know mummy, daddy and I are extremely proud of you and, in particular, how well you're doing at school. Why don't you try a bit harder to get along with Nigel, instead of acting like a spoilt jealous child?" she said, hoping he would listen to her. He looked at his little brother and Nigel said "please play with me Preston, I'll play nice."

Preston looked back at him and smiled "only if you promise not to dribble on my things."

"I promise Preston" Nigel said, with the cutest look on his face.

Preston tried hard to enjoy playing with his baby brother and actually didn't mind at all if he had nothing better to do. He eventually got around to reading those stories to him that their nanny had suggested, realising his little brother loved it when he read to him.

**Age Five**

By the time Nigel was celebrating his fifth birthday he was already reading books written for twelve year olds. He also used to read his dad's encyclopaedias and loved almost everything to do with Egypt, especially The Pyramids, although he wasn't too keen on mummies!

He enjoyed being read to, especially by his father, who'd tell him exciting stories about St Gabriel, who had a magical sword. Jonathan called one of the characters in the book "Nigel the Brave" and Jonathan pretended that his little son was that character and he was the demon, Belial. They'd go running around the house with wooden spoons raised high in the air, having "sword fights." Nigel would pretend to stab the demon in the heart and his daddy would fall to the floor, hold his chest, and say "Nigel the Brave you can't win over me, I'm all powerful!" Then he'd "die" leaving Nigel to raise his "sword" in the air in victory.

Jonathan asked Preston if he'd like to play the "St Gabriel game" with him and Nigel, every time they played, but he always refused, saying "that game's for babies." However, on seeing the closeness that his dad and Nigel shared, his jealousy erupted time and time again.

Nigel loved playing games with his daddy, which sometimes got a bit out of hand. Emily would tell them off saying, "Jonathan, it's not safe to run around the house like that, you'll break something! Nigel, sweetheart, you're too little to be playing so roughly, you'll bump into the furniture, and then there'll be tears!" Of course, she was quite correct, as one day, when chasing Nigel through the dining room, Jonathan knocked over Emily's favourite, china based, Royal Worcester lamp, and broke it! She was very upset as the lamp had been given to her by her mother, who'd since died. Nigel, on seeing how sad his mummy was said "don't worry mummy, daddy will mend it for you, it'll be as good as new, just like my toy aeroplane!" Jonathan had just put a bit of superglue on Nigel's plane, but he was convinced the lamp was irreparable. However, not wanting to let his little son down, as he was showing such faith in him, he looked for a person skilled in the repair of china, which he eventually found, who repaired the lamp to an amazing standard! Emily was thrilled to have it back in one piece, and so was Nigel who said, "see mummy, I knew daddy wouldn't let you be sad for very long, daddy's so clever, isn't he mummy!?" "Yes dear" she said, and laughed.

Jonathan owned several books about gangsters, including two which were specifically about Al Capone. Nigel, even at this young age, began to read them and became quite fascinated by the stories which later came to life when he'd curl up on his father's lap and watch films about them on television. There was one problem which Nigel had when watching films like these and that was he simply hated loud noise! Hoping to prevent his little son from having to cover up his ears, during shootouts, Jonathan kept the volume down as low as possible, ensuring Nigel's complete enjoyment of the film. Emily disliked her little son watching these films but Jonathan insisted that it was normal for little boys to be interested in such things. Usually, after they'd watched a gangster movie, the two of them would pretend to shoot invisible gangsters all around the room, using invisible Tommy Guns. Nigel read a lot about the Tommy Gun, or the Thompson Submachine Gun; as it was actually called. He also read about the various hand guns which gangsters used, remembering everything about the weapons. Guns, of course, are not something a mother would want her child to know about, however, as Nigel was only five years old, he thought of guns as toys, not as things that could kill or maim; to him shooting guns was an innocent game and the things he read in the books and watched on television were just stories.

At five years old Nigel had piano lessons with Mrs Latrease, who was a very nice lady of about fifty five years old. She was a brilliant teacher, who looked slightly odd, as she looked like she had a moustache! Nigel, being a very polite little boy, tried not to stare, but couldn't help but be fascinated by it!

He began to show what a talented pianist he was after he'd had about nine lessons which he thoroughly enjoyed it. Seeing his parents praise little Nigel for being so talented, Preston asked if he could have lessons too. Emily and Jonathan both thought that if the boys had something in common, like music, it might bring them closer together, so they wholeheartedly agreed to Preston's request. From then on he joined Nigel, and Mrs Latrease, in the drawing room of their home, three times a week. To accommodate Preston's school hours, the lessons were moved from the morning to 4.30 p.m. Nigel was so happy to have lessons with Preston as he loved his big brother, despite how he behaved towards him sometimes.

Once Preston had had about twelve lessons he proved to be an even more brilliant pianist than his brother, although, of course, he was older than him and his hands were much larger. Nigel loved to watch Preston play and he'd applaud him loudly and say things like "Preston you're so clever, would you show me how to play like that?" Unfortunately, instead of helping his little brother improve his technique, Preston invited a couple of his friends around to the house one afternoon to show off his expertise. After his performance, he called his friends over, bragged about his brilliance and told them that Nigel was a completely useless pianist, and that he could barely manage to play "Chopsticks" with him. Nigel, unfortunately, overheard him saying "Nigel's a useless pianist" and got very upset and confused.

"Mrs Latrease said I was a good pianist Preston" he said, looking sadly into his big brother's eyes.

"Podge, she was just being nice, you're not very good at all, it would be best if you just gave it up and tried something different" Preston said, putting his hand in front of his mouth to stifle his laughter.

Nigel, being so young and naive, didn't know what to believe but he continued to take lessons, as he enjoyed them so much, doing his best to improve. However, his confidence had been knocked and he was no longer sure of his abilities. Mulling it over in his head he decided to ask his mother if she truly thought he was any good. She immediately said he was excellent, but she'd told Preston the same thing, which Nigel quite understood, as he thought he was too. Unfortunately, this didn't make him feel any better about himself, as he realised his mother might also "just be being nice!"

Emily would often ask her sons to play for her in the evenings, before dinner, and Nigel loved doing that. However, as a few weeks had passed since Preston made that comment on his piano skills, he decided to tell his mother what he'd said, hoping she could explain things to him, and that his playing had improved since then. As his mother was walking towards the dining room Nigel said, with a puzzled expression on his little face, "mummy, Preston doesn't think I'm a good pianist and he thinks Mrs Latrease only tells me I am to make me feel better, is it true?" Emily was shocked and said "darling, Preston shouldn't have said that to you, you're both brilliant pianists, you really are, but you play differently. Preston is more into the technical side of playing, whereas you play from the heart. I really enjoy listening to both of you play sweetheart, you're both exceptional, just different, that's all, and Mrs Latrease, thinks that too!" Nigel smiled at his mummy and thought, Preston must not like my style of playing, and felt a lot better about it. Emily then said to her little son, "I'm going to tell Preston off for being so unkind to you sweetheart" but Nigel wasn't listening anymore, he was thinking about his next piano lesson, which he knew he'd enjoy so much more now, even if Preston didn't like his style.

Eventually both boys showed they had amazing musical abilities when Preston won first prize and Nigel won third, in the Porter Highland Piano Competition; which was held every year in Bath. Nigel congratulated Preston and told him how talented he thought he was, however, he just replied "of course Podge, you either have or you haven't got talent and you, little brother, obviously, haven't!" Nigel thought that was an odd thing for Preston to say, when he'd won a prize too!

One day Nigel was helping his nanny to clean up the drawing room and kitchen, where they'd received visitors earlier on. Louisa had asked Preston if he wanted to help too but he just laughed and said "Nigel the Perfect wants to do it, he's like a human vacuum cleaner! Besides, I have better things to do."

Louisa didn't mind really because she knew it would be quicker to do it herself; with just a little help from Nigel, so she said to Preston "alright, that's fine, but please put these matches back on the top shelf of the cupboard, above the refrigerator." She handed the matches to him, without a second thought, and continued cleaning up the drawing room. Preston, instead of putting the matches away, examined them for a couple of minutes and then, with a menacing look on his face, he whispered to Nigel, so that Nanny Wright wouldn't hear, "I'm going to get your polar bear, put it in the bin and burn it!" Preston laughed, and ran really fast out of the drawing room, along the hallway, through the dining room and into the kitchen. Nigel was stunned for a minute and then ran after him as fast as his little legs would carry him. Unfortunately, as Nigel was so much smaller than his brother, he couldn't catch him. He was horrified at what his brother had threatened to do, but by the time he'd reached the kitchen, Preston had already gone out the back door and slammed it shut. Nigel was unable to reach the latch on the door and was, therefore, unable to follow him. He was on the verge of tears when suddenly he noticed a box of matches on the floor. Knowing how dangerous they were and that Preston could use them to burn his favourite bear, he decided he'd put them on the countertop, out of harm's way, and cover them up with a tissue, so that Preston wouldn't find them. He walked over to the backdoor, where Nanny Wright kept a little stool for him to stand on when they were baking cakes, as he couldn't reach the countertop properly without it, but it wasn't there. Just as he was looking around for his stool, his mother came into the kitchen, through the back door, and saw Nigel with the matches in his hand.

"What on earth are you doing with those matches Nigel!? You know very well you mustn't touch them!!" She was very cross and said "you're a very bad little boy, come over here young man!" Nigel slowly walked over to his mother, looked up at her with tears in his eyes and said "mummy I was just helping nana." Emily acted like she didn't hear and took him by the hand and walked him into the dining room. She calmly sat down and placed him over her lap, smacked his backside and told him how naughty he was, how dangerous matches are and that he knows he shouldn't be playing with them. Nigel cried and protested his innocence but Emily was having none of it. She lifted him off her lap and said "go to bed now Nigel, no reading, just think about what you did. Mummy loves you very much but you frightened me, so when you're ready to apologise you may come down again."

"Mummy I, I ......"

"Go to bed - now!"

Nigel ran out of the room sobbing his little heart out and rubbing his behind, but he was crying more because his mother didn't believe him, than any discomfort he felt. Emily couldn't bring herself to smack Nigel very hard, just hard enough to get the message through. He ran up the stairs, just as his father came out of the bathroom, which was next to Preston's room. Jonathan, on seeing his little son crying so badly asked; in a very concerned tone of voice, "what's the matter son?"

"Daddy I was just helping nanny tidy up the kitchen, the matches were on the floor and I picked them up to put them on the countertop, mummy saw me with the matches in my hand and thought I was playing with them, but I wasn't daddy! Honestly! I wasn't!" He cried and cuddled up to his father legs. His father picked him up, seeing how distressed he was, rested his little head on his shoulder and cuddled him.

"Oh dear son, try to calm down" he said in a very soft and soothing voice.

"Mummy smacked me daddy and I didn't do it!" he said and sobbed some more.

While this was going on Preston had his ear pressed up against his bedroom door, listening to what Nigel was telling his father and silently giggling about his brother getting punished.

Louisa had also overheard what Nigel had told his father, and because she knew Nigel's character so well, she believed he was telling the truth.

She began to wonder how the matches had gotten onto the floor in the first place, and thought very hard about it. They'd used the matches to light a candle for one of the next door neighbour's children, whose birthday it was that day. They'd just put one candle on a cup cake and sang "Happy Birthday" to her, just for a bit of fun. Louisa recalled what was said and done earlier and began to wonder if Preston had put the matches away. She also remembered that Preston had said something to Nigel that made him run after his brother. What she didn't know was that after telling Nigel he was going to burn his bear, Preston had gone into the garden and told his mother that he'd offered to play with Nigel, who'd refused to play with him. Emily thought this was very odd and that's when she'd gone into the kitchen and found Nigel with the matches in his hand!

Louisa went over to Preston's room, knocked on the door, and entered when Preston said, "come in." He quickly jumped on his bed so that she wouldn't know he'd been listening at the door.

"Preston, I assume you can hear Nigel crying outside and that you know why he's crying?" she said.

"Yes I can hear him, and it serves him right, he shouldn't have touched the matches, should he?" he said sarcastically.

"Now Preston, where did you put the matches I gave you a little while ago?" she asked.

"I put them in the cupboard in the kitchen, where you said to put them", Preston said, looking away from his nanny, so she wouldn't see the guilt on his face. Of course she could have gone downstairs to check the cupboard but knew he could easily have put them back by now. She also knew that there was only one box of matches in the house, as they were rarely used.

Louisa had known Preston all his life and she could see he was lying and knew that if he'd put them on the top shelf, Nigel, who was really tiny, even for a five year old, wouldn't have been able to reach them. She looked at Preston, who was starting to blush and said "Nigel couldn't even reach the countertop without standing on a stool, so he's not likely to have been able to get them out of that cupboard, is he!?" She didn't give him time to reply and continued, "So where did you put them Preston?"

"Oh alright" he said "I left them on the top of the fridge in the kitchen and went out to play" he said, very obviously lying.

"Preston, you know very well that Nigel wouldn't have been able to get the matches off the fridge either! Did you put them on the floor for him to pick up? You said something to him which made him run into the kitchen, didn't you? And you knew he was helping me clean up and he'd pick everything up off the floor too" Louisa said, feeling very upset. He didn't answer; he just continued to blush bright red and looked at the floor. "You're also aware that he wouldn't be able to reach the countertop, not unless he used his little stool. Come to think of it, his stool was in the conservatory just now when I was tidying up, did you put it in there!?"

It was now very obvious to Louisa that Preston had left the matches on the floor, that he'd picked up Nigel's stool as he was running out the kitchen door; and that a few minutes later he'd put it in the conservatory, ensuring Nigel wouldn't be able to put the matches on the countertop. She was convinced he'd done this deliberately, so that Nigel would get caught with the matches by either her or his parents. Even if he didn't leave them on the floor deliberately, she thought, he certainly didn't put them back in the cupboard, or on the refrigerator, like he'd just said he had!

"I think you'd better go and explain to your mother and father what happened, young man, and don't lie anymore, it will just make it worse" Louisa said thinking, I just can't understand why he behaves this way, he's become so devious! Preston was really annoyed; he thought he'd gotten away with it and that Nigel would be the one in trouble, instead of him, for a change.

She took hold of Preston's hand and walked him out of his bedroom, telling Jonathan, on the way out, that Preston had something to tell him and Mrs Bailey. She then took him downstairs to the drawing room and waited for Jonathan. Once his father came into the room Preston bowed his head and said "mum, dad, I dropped the matches on the floor because I knew that Podge would pick them up. I couldn't be bothered to get out the step ladder so that I could put them in the cupboard like nanny asked me to. I knew Podge wouldn't actually try to strike one, but he should've just left them there, he was naughty, wasn't he, even just picking them up?" he said, trying to make it Nigel's fault instead of his. Louisa helped fill in the bits of the story that Preston had deliberately omitted and then she left so that his parents could deal with him appropriately.

Emily gave her son an exasperated look and said "I'm very disappointed in you Preston; this isn't the first time you've done something like this either. I guess that's why you told me Nigel didn't want to play with you, so I'd go into the kitchen and find him with the matches. I've just punished your little brother for something he didn't do, so I think you'd better have a smacked backside too!!"

Preston protested saying "no, please mum no, don't please!"

Emily told him "I don't like having to punish you but you give me no choice, you keep doing such devious and nasty things."

"Mum, I'm too big for this!" he said with a look of horror on his face as she took hold of his arm.

"Well Preston, if you don't fit over my lap, your father will have to punish you!" she said. He certainly didn't want that, he smacked much harder than his mother, but he still continued to protest.

Emily took no notice, pulled him over her lap, and smacked him. She kept quite calm as she punished him, explaining that behaviour like that would not be tolerated! He had to learn that he couldn't get away with his constant bullying of his little brother. She then said to him "Nigel's only five, he just wants you to love him and play with him, he adores you Preston!!" When the punishment was over she helped him up off her lap and said to her very unhappy looking son, "now go upstairs and apologise to your brother and then you can go to bed." He wiped the tears away from his eyes, rubbed his behind; ran out of the drawing room and up the stairs, with his parents following behind him. They all went into Nigel's room where he'd been left by his father and Emily said to her very sorry looking eldest son "Preston, tell Nigel what you did." He looked at his tearful little brother and told him the whole story, saying he was truly sorry. Nigel looked at Preston, sobbed a little and said "wh wh why Preston?" He didn't answer; he just looked down at the ground and then ran back to his own room, threw himself on his bed and cried. He knew he deserved to be punished, especially after seeing just how baffled and unhappy his little brother was.

Preston would never have damaged Nigel's little bear; he just wanted him to be seen as a naughty boy sometimes; instead of the perfect little angel that his parents thought he was.

Nigel looked at his parents with tears in his eyes and cuddled up to his polar bear quite tightly, although he now realised Preston wasn't really going to burn it.

Nigel's little nose was running and his fringe was soaked, as he'd been crying almost the entire time since the incident, feeling so unhappy that his mummy didn't believe him.

"Come here my darling" Emily said, as she stood Nigel up on his bed and wiped his eyes and nose. "I'm so sorry that I didn't listen to you, you're such a good boy; I should've known you wouldn't have been silly enough to play with matches. I'm sorry I smacked you too baby, I'll never ignore what you say again." She picked him up and hugged him so tightly he had to ask her to stop so that he could breathe.

Nigel put his little nose on his mummy's nose and wiggled it from side to side, giving her an Eskimo kiss "It's alright mummy" he said, holding his mother close and placing his head on her shoulder "I know you just made a mistake, but mummy …. I wish Preston loved me like you and daddy do, he just makes himself sad acting like a bad boy."

Emily was so surprised at what Nigel had just said and replied "sweetheart Preston is at an awkward age, he loves you though, I know he does. You'll just have to be extra nice to your big brother and he'll soon be a good boy again and then he'll be happy."

The following morning Nigel woke up really early, he tried to go back to sleep but he couldn't help thinking about what had happened the previous day. He decided to go into Preston's room to check he was alright because he knew he'd been punished. He picked up his polar bear, quietly opened his bedroom door and crept along the corridor to his brother's room. Opening the door as silently as possible; he tip toed across the room and climbed onto Preston's bed. Noticing his brother was still asleep he got under the covers and curled up beside him, putting his little arm over his brother's waist as far as he could reach, and then managed to go back to sleep. About an hour later Preston woke up to find his little brother cuddling up to him, fast asleep. Feeling he must have been forgiven he pushed the hair off Nigel's little face, revealing two very sore and swollen eyes. Just then Nigel woke up and Preston asked with a big smile on his face; "what are you doing in my bed Podge?"

"I wanted to give you a cuddle to make you feel better, are you alright now?" Nigel said sweetly.

"Yes, I'm fine, a bit sore, but I'm OK. Um I'm sorry I played such a rotten trick on you Podge, I really wouldn't have burned your bear, honestly; I wouldn't, are you alright?" he asked.

Nigel looked at Preston, cuddled up to him again and said "I'm alright now Preston but please don't do naughty things anymore, you know it makes me cry and makes mummy cross." Preston hugged his little brother really tightly and Nigel thought, mummy's right, Preston does love me.

**First Day at School **

Nigel's first day at school was rather unusual, he'd been to St John's five times in the previous few weeks, just to get him, and the other small boys, used to going to school. As he could already read, and do other subjects, better than most twelve year olds the headmaster, Mr Jarvis, didn't quite know what to do with him. He was only five, and was extremely tiny and shy, so Mr Jarvis thought it would be best if Nigel went into a class with boys aged eight, as a compromise, rather than with even older boys, who'd probably frighten him. He also thought that Miss Jackson, who taught that class on a daily basis, would be a good teacher for Nigel, as once a week she taught art to the five year olds and she was excellent with them.

Having discussed his decision with Emily and Jonathan they agreed that, for the time being, Miss Jackson's class was the best place for their little son, at least until he could be thoroughly assessed. Mr Jarvis had no idea how advanced Nigel was and neither did his parents, as they'd never allowed him to take any tests in relation to his intelligence.

Nigel was taken to school on his first day by his mother, who was quite worried that he would be upset when she left him to go back home. However, although he was very nervous about going to school, and initially he didn't want to let go of his mummy's hand, he was looking forward to reading lots of new books and learning some new things.

Once Miss Jackson had taken Nigel to her classroom, she lifted him onto a seat at the front of the class to enable him to see the blackboard without having the heads of the bigger boys in his way. She then greeted her class, told them her name and pointed to the blackboard saying "this is a list of books that you'll be reading over the next year." Nigel was a little dismayed to note that he'd already read them all, but some were his favourite books, so he didn't mind too much.

Miss Jackson needed to know how much her new students already knew about the various subjects she'd be teaching, as lots of the boys were new to the school. Therefore, she prepared some test papers for them which would give her an idea of their strengths and weaknesses. The first paper was an arithmetic test which Nigel immediately thought looked extremely easy. She collected up the maths papers, after half an hour, and immediately handed out some blank sheets of paper, as she wanted to find out how well each of them could write and spell. Realising that several of the boys were from foreign countries, she asked them to write a short story, explaining it could be about absolutely anything, so as not to put any of them in a disadvantaged position.

While the class were writing their stories, Miss Jackson was marking the arithmetic tests and to her amazement Nigel scored 100%! The highest score in the class, apart from his was 65%.

After about an hour and ten minutes she collected in all of the stories and was amazed at Nigel's work. He'd written a story about an Egyptian King, it was truly wonderful, full of details about Egypt and its people. Thinking the story was so remarkable she took great pleasure in reading it out to the class, which pleased Nigel, and helped him to relax a little.

Wanting to know more about Nigel, but not wanting to embarrass him in front of the class, she asked him to come outside to have a word with her. She sat him on her knee and asked him how old he was. Even though Mr Jarvis had said he was five, she was finding that very difficult to believe as, visually, he looked younger, but academically, he appeared a lot older.

"I'm five" he whispered.

"Where did you learn to read, write and do sums like that Nigel?" his teacher asked, smiling at him.

"Nana, mummy, daddy and Preston taught me" he said very quietly.

She took his hand and went back into the classroom and said "OK Nigel, please go and sit at your desk." He did as he was told and the whole class laughed at him struggling to get onto his chair. Miss Jackson; on seeing how embarrassed her little student was, helped him up and sternly looked at her class. Still looking quite cross she pointed to a pile of books on her desk and said "David, please hand these books out to everyone" telling them to read chapter one of "Treasure Island" while she went to see another teacher about something. Nigel had loved this story ever since Preston had read it to him and he'd read it himself twice since then, but he didn't mind reading it again, it was such a great story.

Miss Jackson thought she would have to give Nigel some tests to see how bright he was; as she'd never come across a child like him before. She went to see her colleague, Mr Lewis, who taught boys aged thirteen, and asked for some old exam papers, explaining she wanted to use them to test a five year old. Mr Lewis, although rather sceptical; gave them to her.

When she got back to her classroom she was astonished to find Nigel lying on the floor, crying, with the whole class out of their seats, gathered around him. On seeing her enter the room they all ran back to their desks, leaving Nigel just lying there sobbing.

"What happened Nigel? Are you alright?" she said, picking him up to cuddle him. He put his head on her shoulder and she wiped his tears away with her hand. He didn't say anything he just sobbed and rubbed side.

"What happened here?" Miss Jackson asked the class, looking very frustrated when nobody spoke. "If somebody doesn't tell me, immediately, the whole class will be in detention tonight, and for the rest of the week, now what happened!?"

One of the bigger boys, Jake, who was sat two rows behind Nigel, stood up and said "the little kid just dropped his pencil and came back here to get it, he tripped on something, fell over, and started to cry like a baby. We don't deserve detention Miss; I absolutely have to be home on time!"

"How, may I ask, did his pencil get back there if he dropped it when sitting at his desk?" the teacher said suspiciously.

"It rolled back" Jake said, his face getting redder and redder, making it obvious he was lying.

"Nigel is that what happened?" she asked gently.

"No" Nigel said, barely audible.

"What did happen then?" Nigel just cuddled into her shoulder a bit more.

At that moment another boy, Thomas, stood up and said to his teacher "look we shouldn't all be punished just because one bully likes to hit little kids!"

His teacher looked at him and asked if he was prepared to tell her who the bully was and how Nigel came to be on the floor. Thomas looked over at Jake and said "sorry old boy but you know you hurt him and it isn't fair that the rest of us should suffer for your bullying ways" Jake was really shocked that Thomas had turned him in, as telling tales on your fellow students was really frowned upon. Thomas continued "Miss Jackson, Jake just grabbed hold of the kid's hair, pulled him out of his seat, pushed him on the floor and kicked him really hard on his side. That's why we were all gathered around him when you came in; we wanted to see that he was alright."

"Is that true, Jake!?" she asked, but she could tell by the look on his face it was. "Why did you do such a nasty thing!?" she demanded, with a very shocked expression on her face.

"He's nothing but a show off Miss" Jake said.

"How did he show off?" she asked.

"Doing all that work; getting everything right; showing us all up!" Jake moaned.

"It's not Nigel's fault that he's a clever little boy and I don't believe for one minute he was showing off! You, young man, will have detention for the rest of the week. However, if Nigel's parents complain to the school, they might have you expelled! I'm telling you now Jake, if I ever see, or hear of you bullying anyone else, or taking revenge on Thomas for telling on you, I will have you expelled myself, am I clear!!?"

"Yes Miss, clear Miss" Jake said looking at the floor, with tears in his eyes, as the whole class appeared to be against him.

"Right I'm going to see Mr Jarvis and this time I want you to read "Treasure Island" she said, as she left the class, carrying Nigel on her hip.

Jake was really worried knowing that the incident was being reported to Mr Jarvis, who'd then inform his parents what he'd done. He'd been in trouble once before at school and been punished quite severely by his parents, who were very strict and expected him to behave like a perfect little gentleman, insisting he's home on time, every afternoon after school, or he'd be in big trouble with them!

"Are you alright Nigel? Are you hurting?" Miss Jackson asked in a very concerned tone of voice as she carried him towards the Headmaster's office.

"I'm alright" was all he'd say, but she didn't see him scrunch up his face in pain as he cuddled into to her shoulder.

They reached the Headmaster's outer office and Mrs Jarvis, who worked with her husband three days a week, as a secretary, let them in. Miss Jackson put Nigel down and asked her if she'd mind looking after him while she went into her husband's office to talk. She took one look at Nigel and said "oh isn't he cute, come here sweetheart." Nigel slowly walked over to the lady and looked up at her nervously, as his teacher knocked on the Headmaster's door and went in.

Mrs Jarvis picked Nigel up, sat him on her lap and noticed him flinch. "What is it Nigel?" she asked.

"Nothing" he said shyly.

"Why did you flinch like that, are you in pain sweetie?" Mrs Jarvis asked, with concern in her voice.

"I'm alright, one of the big boys kicked me on my side" Nigel said, pointing to his hipbone "it doesn't hurt much now."

"Let me have a look sweetie" she said, tugging at the waistband of his trousers.

"No, no don't!" he cried.

"I won't hurt you Nigel; I just want to make sure you're OK" she said with concern.

"I know, but I'm alright" he said quietly.

Mrs Jarvis gently cuddled Nigel, making sure she didn't press on his side, and waited for his teacher to come back out of her husband's office.

Miss Jackson advised Mr Jarvis about the incident in her classroom, telling him she was punishing Jake, and explained that, at the moment, she felt she couldn't leave the little boy in her classroom, without her presence. She also told him that the other reason for her visit was that she wanted to investigate how intelligent Nigel was.

He thought it was a very good idea, advising he was going to do that anyway, in due course; the problem was where they'd place him when they found out!

Miss Jackson advised the Headmaster that she thought things were going to be quite difficult for Nigel, as he'd never be able to be placed in a class with children of his own age. "He's such a sweet little boy and really clever, but his shyness is going to make it hard for him, and he might get bullied. I just know he's going to do well with these tests" she said, showing Mr Jarvis the exam papers she'd gotten from Mr Lewis earlier. She then informed him that, with his permission, she'd test Nigel over the next few days and show him the results when they'd been graded. Mr Jarvis was in complete agreement and was actually pleased she'd taken the initiative. She got up from the chair feeling much better as this meeting was easier than she thought it would be.

Just as she was leaving the Headmaster's office, Mrs Jarvis gently lifted Nigel off her lap, walked over to Miss Jackson and whispered in her ear "I think his right side is hurting, on his hipbone, he said a boy kicked him, so I think you'd better have a look, just to be on the safe side, he wouldn't let me see. You may have to take him to the nurse and call his mother if he's hurt"

"Thanks for letting me know Mrs Jarvis; I'll try and persuade him to let me have a look" she whispered back, "I know about that boy kicking him, I've been explaining about that to your husband. Um, would you mind getting one of the other teachers to check on my class for me? They're supposed to be reading "Treasure Island" while I'm here, but I want to check Nigel out before I return to class."

"No problem, I'll do that for you, I might even check on them myself, so don't worry" she said.

She took her tiny student into a spare classroom and explained she was going to test him to see how clever he was. Nigel just said "alright" as she put the test papers on the desk and lifted Nigel onto a chair.

She knew she was going to have to ask Nigel about the kick he'd receive, and was dreading it as if he was hurt, there could be serious repercussions. Eventually, she said, as gently as possible "Nigel, did Jake hurt you when he kicked you?"

"Yes, he did, but I'm alright now" he said looking down at his test paper, not wanting to really discuss the matter at all.

She gently took hold of Nigel's shoulders, looked directly into his eyes and said "Nigel, I'm just going to pull your trousers down a tiny bit so that I can see if you're bruised, don't be shy, it will only take a second, I promise I won't hurt you, alright?"

"Alright" Nigel said, barely audible.

She gently took hold of Nigel's trousers and pulled the right side down, exposing his hipbone, and saw there was a large bruise where he'd been kicked. She was really shocked and thought, as she pulled up his trousers carefully, no wonder he cried so hard! She sat him on her lap and said, "Nigel, that bruise looks painful, would you like to go home and see your mummy?"

"No, not yet, I want to do those tests please, they look like fun" Nigel said, feeling relieved that the viewing of his bruise was over! His teacher was taken aback, but decided she'd let him do the tests, although she realised she was eventually going to have to call his parents to explain what happened!

She looked at her watch and noticed that lunchtime was almost half over and neither of them had eaten yet. Knowing the importance of eating healthily, especially for young children, she said to her little student "have you brought any lunch with you, or are you going to eat in the canteen?"

"I'm supposed to eat here, mummy told me I must eat up all my vegetables" Nigel said, looking up at his teacher and wondering where the canteen was.

"Right then Nigel" she said "let's go and get something to eat and you can do a test after that" She took hold of his hand, walked him to the canteen, picked up a plate and said "what are you going to have then?"

"I'm not very hungry, I don't want a lot of food" he said, looking around the room at the other boys whose plates were piled high with fries, burgers and various other things.

"Tell me what you'd like and I'll get it for you" she said.

"Please may I have a little piece of chicken, some carrots and peas and one small potato? I don't eat a lot of food" he said, hoping she would understand.

His teacher smiled at him and relayed his lunch order to the lady behind the counter. He very was worried that the lady serving the food hadn't listened to his teacher when she said "a small portion" and thought she might pile up his plate. Luckily, she had listened, although she still gave him too much. He managed to eat all his vegetables, two mouthfuls of chicken and half a potato and then nervously looked at his teacher and said "is it alright to leave the rest? I'll be sick if I eat any more, my tummy's bursting!"

"Of course it is Nigel, you ate all of your vegetables, just like your mummy said, except for that bit of potato and that doesn't count. You did very well, just drink up your milk and you can get some dessert, and then you can do one of those tests if you like?"

"OK, thank you, but do I have to eat dessert? I'll be sick if I eat anymore" Nigel said, looking worried again.

"No, of course you don't, but you must drink that glass of milk, it's very important for little boys to drink milk, so they'll grow up big and strong" she said, smiling at Nigel. He drank his milk and then she took hold of his hand and walked him back to the spare classroom, to start one of the tests.

While Nigel was doing that, she arranged for some further cover for her class; until she could finish up matters with regard to her youngest student.

Miss Jackson knew it was her duty to inform Nigel's parents that their little son had been kicked whilst in her care and she was absolutely dreading it. Realising she'd put it off long enough she rang the Baileys' and immediately got through to Emily, who was working at home on her son's first day at school, enabling her to take him there and collect in the afternoon. The teacher described the circumstances that led to Nigel getting hurt and told Emily she was extremely sorry; explaining Nigel appeared to be alright, even though he had a nasty bruise, and that he'd insisted on taking some tests, rather than going home. Emily couldn't help feeling upset about her "baby" but replied "as long as he's not seriously hurt I won't come to the school right now, but I will come tomorrow, with my husband, and sort it out. I'll let Nigel continue with the tests, if that's what he wants to do, and check him over when he comes home, but if he changes his mind, and wants to come home, please ring me immediately and I'll collect him."

Having spoken to Mrs Bailey, who was obviously an intelligent and reasonable lady, Miss Jackson felt a lot better about the whole situation and took Nigel back to her classroom. She gave him all three test papers to do at his leisure, and began to teach an English lesson to the rest of her class. During the time she was doing that Nigel finished two of the test papers, scoring 96% on one and 93% on the other. Miss Jackson hadn't bothered to time exactly how long it took him to complete the tests, as that wasn't the point, but she knew he'd taken just over an hour and ten minutes to complete them both and that an hour was usually allocated for each test!

At 3.15 p.m. Emily collected Nigel from school and immediately picked him up in her arms to cuddle him, saying "are you alright sweetheart, I spoke to your teacher who said you'd been kicked by a big boy, is it hurting darling?"

"No mummy, I'm alright, let's go home and have some tea" he said, changing the subject.

Emily walked Nigel to the car and decided not to say anything more about it until they got home. She chatted generally with him and he told her about the tests, that he'd eaten all his vegetables at lunch time, except for a bit of potato, and that he liked his teacher. Emily was pleased to hear that he'd enjoyed most of his day but couldn't help wonder what she'd find when she checked for that bruise!

As soon as they got home she took Nigel up to his bedroom to change out of his school uniform, and immediately looked at his little hipbone. She saw the bruise and thought it looked very painful. Nigel, however, said it was fine but he didn't want to sit near Jake again!

As soon as Jonathan came home Emily explained the events of the day and he was furious! He carried Nigel back to his bedroom and examined him saying "that's a nasty bruise son, that boy should be expelled for doing that to you!" Nigel knew what expelled meant, and he knew he was afraid of Jake, but he remembered how sorry that boy looked when the whole class got angry with him, so he said, "daddy it would be nice if Jake wasn't in the class, or sat by me, but I don't mind if he's not expelled, as long as he doesn't hurt me again." Jonathan picked Nigel back up off the bed, put him on his lap and cuddled him very tightly saying "you're a very brave little boy son; mummy and I will go to your school tomorrow and make sure he can't hurt you again. I'll have calmed down by then and I'll be able to think more clearly, now let's go down to the kitchen and have some ice cream! Oh yes, nana bought you some crumpets, from Marks and Spencer, for tea today too, yum yum!"

The next day Nigel's parents attended the school and a decision was made that Jake could stay at the school, as long as he never bullied another child, or behaved improperly again towards a fellow student. The school had a very strict policy about this anyway and very few boys at St John's ever had to be told twice! Jake's parents punished him severely and he was moved to the other side of the classroom, away from Nigel.

When Nigel took the third test that his teacher had given him the previous day, he scored 97%. She was absolutely astounded and had never seen anything like it! Nigel was only allowed to stay in her class for the next six weeks; he was then moved to the twelve year olds class where unfortunately for Nigel, the boys rarely spoke to him and Nigel missed Miss Jackson terribly.

**Age Six**

Nigel sailed through all of his examinations, in the twelve year olds class, and after the half term holidays, when he returned to school, he was due to go up to the next class. However, before moving Nigel up, Mr Jarvis, who thought he was a wonderful little boy, asked his parents if they would mind him being tested to see if he had a photographic memory, or if he was just super intelligent. He explained that, unfortunately, the tests would have to be done in Birmingham, which was a two hour train journey from London. Jonathan and Emily agreed he could be tested, as long as they were permitted to be with him, at all times, bearing in mind he was only six years old, and would be frightened to be with people he didn't know. The Baileys' also stipulated that the tests must only be in relation to his possible photographic memory, or his intelligence.

Nigel was taken to Birmingham University where three professors tested him on what he could remember, and understand, about some complicated matters they explained to him. By the time Nigel had completed three or four tests the professors were totally convinced that he not only had a photographic memory, but that he was a genius too. Nigel was able to recall everything that they discussed with him, with no trouble at all. However, the professors warned his parents that sometimes photographic memories, like Nigel's, don't always last through to adulthood, but confirmed his intelligence would!

Nigel sat on his father's knee while he took the tests and felt very secure and enjoyed the challenges put before him. However, when Emily was asked if more tests could be done, she flatly refused saying "Nigel's my little boy, he's not a guinea pig, my husband and I only gave you permission to give him two types of tests and there will be no more!" She thanked the professors for completing the tests so quickly, picked up her little son and called Jonathan; who was arranging a taxi to take them to the station. They hoped they'd get home before it got too late, as Nigel was falling asleep, and had to be carried from the taxi to the train, where he slept the entire journey.

When Nigel went back to school, following those tests, he could have gone up at least two grades. However, his parents were mindful that if he did this his fellow students would all be at least fourteen and Nigel would miss being with his usual classmates. Even though the children from that class were now almost all thirteen, they were, at least, used to him being there, and were not unkind to him. The decision was, therefore, made to move him up just one grade, along with all the other boys from his previous class.

All the boys in Nigel's class had one thing in common; they loved sport, particularly football and cricket. Jonathan suggested to Nigel that a good way of getting to know the other boys better would be to learn about their favourite teams. He was very nervous about the idea of getting closer to his classmates, because they were, obviously, so much bigger, and older than him; however, he told his father he would try.

He went to the library to find some books on the two subjects and it only took him a couple of days to learn all the rules of both sports. Jonathan bought him some football and cricket magazines and, in no time at all, he knew the names of all the top footballers and cricketers. He could even remember the most obscure facts that he'd read, which really amazed his classmates. Once Nigel showed an interest in sport the other boys began to talk to him a little more, and they even allowed him to play football with them, as long as it was just for fun. They had to be careful because Nigel was tiny and most of the boys, being thirteen, were quite big. He wasn't allowed on the pitch when they practiced for a match against another school, he was made to sit on the sidelines at those times. Then, one day, the football coach, Mr Buxton, came up with a brilliant idea; to make Nigel into the team's mascot! The coach managed to get a tiny version of the team's football kit made for him and when St John's played against another school, Nigel was carried onto the pitch, on the shoulders of the coach, to bring good luck on the team. Nigel loved it, except he always felt giddy being up so high! This was the first time since he started school that he'd ever really enjoyed anything that was not considered academic in any way.

He did attempt to play cricket on a couple of occasions too but found he much preferred to be a spectator. The problem was, playing with much older boys, the bat was far too big and heavy for him and he couldn't run that fast either, which made him feel more like a hindrance to his classmates, so he didn't mind at all just watching and cheering them on.

Nigel's parents were very proud of him for trying so hard to play cricket but Preston showed off terribly, in front of him, as he sat watching his classmates play. Preston could actually play cricket really well, however, he was thirteen, which was the same age as the boys in Nigel's class!

**Age Seven **

During his time at St John's Nigel tried to learn oil painting, knowing his mummy would like some pictures from him, as she always loved anything he and Preston made, or did, for her at school. He mentioned this to his father who, eventually, gave him the go ahead, even though he thought it might interfere with his other more important studies. Unfortunately, his father was correct and Nigel only got to attend seven art classes before he had to give them up. This truly saddened him as he'd even given up being the football mascot to allow him time to paint and thought; when I grow up I'm going to Art College to have more lessons!

Preston took up oil painting after Nigel had completed his third lesson and managed to learn the technique quite easily, and did some lovely paintings; which were later hung in the family home. Nigel loved his big brother's pictures and asked him to teach him more about the subject at home, as he had to keep missing lessons at school. Preston, however, never found the time to teach him anything, preferring to keep oil painting as something else he was better at than Nigel.

**PLEASE REVIEW**


	3. Chapter 3

**I don't own Relic Hunter or the characters from it**

**Chapter Three**

**Growing up**

**Age Nine**

When the boys at St John's reached the age of nine they were started on a programme of sex education which was taught in a way that was appropriate to their age. The programme itself lasted until the boys were thirteen, with the lessons becoming more explicit as the boys got older. Unfortunately, by the time Nigel was nine, he was in a class where the boys had already completed the programme, leaving him deprived of the opportunity to learn about sex. During his previous four years at school, every time his classmates were given these lessons, Nigel was sent to the library to read. His classmates certainly didn't discuss sex with him, although they did amongst themselves, usually just after the lesson. Nigel would sometimes inadvertently overhear their conversation, but he could make little sense of it. There was little or nothing on the subject in the school library, for obvious reasons, although, at nine, Nigel wasn't particularly interested and made no attempt to find out more. His parents had no idea that this part of Nigel's education was being neglected and they, therefore, did nothing about it. In fact, it simply didn't occur to them to talk to him about "the birds and the bees" as he was still such a small child, looking more like seven than nine, and he didn't ask questions about it either. Preston was always very careful not to talk about sexual matters in front of his little brother, thinking he was far too young to hear such things; forgetting he was first taught about sex at age nine! Nigel had very little contact with girls, or even boys of his own age, who would have probably talked about the lessons they'd received and, therefore, he was completely innocent about this rather crucial topic.

Preston was having his own problems in relation to sex; the opposite sex to be precise, as he wasn't particularly good looking, had acne and a rather odd personality. Having all this against him he was finding it really hard to get a girlfriend, which was knocking his confidence somewhat. He had very few male friends by this time too, due to the fact that he behaved so abysmally towards them, bragging about his achievements and belittling them in the process. He got bored really quickly, being on his own so much, and looked for as many weird and wonderful things to do as possible, to stop the boredom setting in.

Preston got interested in some very strange things at age sixteen, one of them being the "The Elephant Man" whose real name was Joseph Merrick, but was better known as John. He was born in 1862 and was called the "Elephant Man" because of the abnormal masses of flesh which began growing on his face and body when he was a child; his body was also very deformed. Preston had heard that the "Elephant Man's" skeleton was being displayed at the Royal London Hospital Archives and Museum, as it was all over the news. Deciding he'd like to see the bones, along with a few other gory things, he planned to spend a whole day in Central London, visiting museums and a few other places. His parents considered he was old enough to do things like this on his own, which was lucky really, because the few friends he did have weren't interested in museums, never mind seeing a bunch of old bones!

On the day that Preston chose to go and see the skeleton, his parents had accepted an invitation to a charity function at Windsor Castle. It was a great honour for them to be invited and they'd already sent their acceptance letter. When Louisa, unfortunately, had to go to a funeral, on the same day, this meant there was nobody to look after Nigel. Emily considered asking her eldest son to postpone his day out but then she thought, Nigel loves museums, he could take Nigel with him. Preston hadn't been specific about which museums he planned to visit, but she thought Nigel would love them anyway. To her surprise, when she asked him to take Nigel with him, he agreed immediately, with no arguments, even agreeing to have him home by 8.00 p.m.

"Preston darling, would you buy Nanny Wright a birthday gift from you and Nigel while you're out? You can use the credit card to buy whatever you think she'll like" she said, handing over the card to her son.

"Yes mum, no problem, I'll pop into Harrods" he said.

Preston bought two tickets for London Underground, which you could use all day, as many times as you liked. Nigel hated using this form of transport as it was always so busy and, being so tiny, he was constantly being jostled by people and hit with bags and umbrellas. When he was knocked down near the top of one of the very steep escalators, Preston, who was almost as tall as Jonathan, had to pick him up and carry him onto the train, where they, unfortunately, had to stand. Once they arrived at Whitechapel they made their way to the Royal London Museum, where Nigel had never been before and was looking forward to seeing. On arrival they immediately went to the basement, which was lit like it would have been in the 1800s, for effect, making it quite dark and spooky. On noticing the darkness, Nigel clung onto his big brother's hand, feeling very uneasy. Preston took him over to the glass box which contained the skeleton and looked down at the bones, while Nigel looked into the side of the box. Suddenly, realisation struck and Nigel screamed with terror when he saw the deformed skull, misshapen jawbone, enlarged eye sockets and deformed torso of the "Elephant Man". He let go of his brother's hand and ran away as fast as he could, with tears falling down his cheeks, while Preston shrieked with laughter! Preston knew the skeleton would frighten his little brother because he always cringed when he saw them on television. Nigel's fear stemmed back to when he was six, and Preston took him on the Ghost Train ride at an amusement park, in Brighton, where there were lots of fake skeletons hanging from the walls and ceiling, which terrified Nigel so much he had nightmares for weeks.

Preston stayed and examined the bones for about ten minutes, and then wandered around looking at the other exhibits. Suddenly he realised that Nigel hadn't come back into the room and wondered where he'd gone. Strolling into the next room he saw his little brother being fussed over by one of the female museum guides. Nigel was shaking and breathing into a brown paper bag, trying not to cry, as he realised there were things in the room that were horrible and he wanted to leave. Preston went over to the guide, who he thought was rather pretty, and said "I'm sorry, is my little brother bothering you? He's such a pain sometimes, you can't take him anywhere!"

The guide was furious with Preston and said to him "the poor little thing is scared to death! He was having a panic attack when I found him, ten minutes ago, curled up in a corner, gasping for air! Luckily I'm trained in first aid and knew what to do to stop the attack. Why on earth did you bring him here you moron!? You must have known he was afraid of skeletons and medical things!?"

"I, I thought he'd um gotten over it" Preston said with a very guilty look on his face.

The pretty guide gave him a sceptical look and continued "I think you'd better take your little brother home, he's far too young to be wondering around a museum like this on his own. You'll be taking him to the Chamber of Horrors at **Madame Tussauds** next, you thoughtless idiot!"

Preston grabbed hold of Nigel's arm, pulled him outside to the street and shouted out of pure embarrassment "What do you think you're doing telling complete strangers you're scared!"

"I was scared Preston! It was dark and there were horrible things down there! You know, skeletons, dead bodies, blood, scalpels, and rats!! That lady looked like she would help me; you know I don't like things like that. Is that why you let me come out with you so you could frighten me to death!?"

"Don't be so silly Podge, they're just bones, they can't hurt you, now grow up!" he yelled. Preston had actually every intention of taking Nigel to the Chamber of Horrors, after they'd been to The Royal London, but he didn't dare do that now, seeing his brother's reaction to just one skeleton! He knew he'd be in big trouble at home too if Nigel told their parents what he'd done.

"Look Podge, I'll take you to Hyde Park and then Green Park, where you can feed the ducks and have an ice cream. After that we can see Buckingham Palace and a few other interesting places in the area, then we can go to Harrods, how about that?" he said, trying to think of some things that his brother would enjoy, so he wouldn't blab about what he'd done to their parents.

"OK, but please no more nasty surprises, I love museums but not like that one!" Nigel said, thinking, I wish he wouldn't keep doing such rotten things to me all the time.

They walked to the Underground station, Preston picking Nigel up again on seeing the look of panic on his face as they approached the very steep escalator. When they got to Hyde Park they bought some sandwiches for lunch and Preston let Nigel have an ice cream. Strolling by the side of the Serpentine, just after lunch, they noticed masses of ducks, geese and swans, along with hundreds of tiny chicks; which Preston knew Nigel would love. Nigel was thrilled to see the birds and sat on the ground where he began feeding tiny pieces of his ice cream cornet to the chicks. Suddenly, as he attempted to stroke the heads of the chicks, he heard the unmistakable onk onk onk of some very noisy geese who, to his horror, were flapping their wings and running towards him! He was stunned, and tried to get up, but the geese began pecking at his hand with their strong bills. He yelped, pulled away quickly, managed to stand up and ran as fast as he could, with the geese chasing after him, pecking and snapping at his ankles. Luckily they gave up the chase before too long and returned to their chicks. Preston, however, hadn't seen any of this going on; as he was far too busy watching some girls having a picnic. Nigel ran over to his brother to show him his fingers, which had red marks on three of them and appeared to be starting to bruise.

"The geese pecked me Preston" he said, trying not to cry. Preston examined his fingers and said "you'll live Podge!" Nigel was very upset by his uncaring response and said "it hurts Preston; I want to go home." Preston, thinking that would cause too many problems with their parents said "go and dip your hand in the water, it's cold and it'll take the pain away." Nigel looked very sceptical, so Preston gently took hold of his hand and put it in the water, holding it there for a couple of minutes, hoping his brother would stop whining. On seeing Nigel smile, he realised the water was helping, just as he thought it would.

"Thank you Preston that feels so much better" Nigel said, thinking how clever his brother was. He took his hand out of the water, gave it a shake, and gave Preston a hug.

"Don't make such a fuss in public Podge!" Preston said, blushing. Nigel stopped hugging him and asked "can we go now? I don't like the geese anymore; can we go to the Natural History Museum? I don't mind the bones of dinosaurs and I love it there!" Nigel looked up at Preston hopefully, and waited for his reply.

"Sorry Podge, we don't have time to go there, we'll need a full day for that museum, I'll take you another day." Preston said without really thinking.

"Really, you'll take me to the Natural History Museum?" Nigel smiled.

"Um yes I'll take you ........ but only if you don't tell mum and dad you were scared at the Royal London, alright Podge?"

"Alright Preston, I promise I won't tell mummy and daddy about that, but do you promise you'll take me?" Nigel asked again.

"Yes I promise Podge, now let's have a wonder around by Buckingham Palace and see some of the brilliant statues; then we can go to Harrods to buy nanny a gift. While they were outside the palace they were lucky enough to catch the Changing of the Guards, which they'd never managed to see before. Making their way to the Underground once again, following their luck with the guards, they took the train to Knightsbridge, which is the nearest station to Harrods. The Bailey family often came to this store to buy clothes and items for the house, so Preston felt completely at home there and knew exactly where the various departments were.

"What shall we buy for nanny then Podge?" Preston asked his little brother, who was looking at the amazing displays at the entrance of the store.

"Um, I think nana would like a new necklace to wear; can we buy a really nice one for her?" Nigel asked, wondering whether they had enough money between them.

"We can get whatever we like as mum said I can use the credit card" Preston said, thinking nanny deserves something really special. They made their way to the jewellery department, and both chose the same thing, a beautiful cameo pendant with a thick silver chain. The necklace was £450 but the shop assistant had no problem with the credit card, thinking Preston was at least eighteen. Preston looked quite mature for sixteen, and he was very smartly dressed, so the cashier took the card without a second thought. They had the necklace gift wrapped and then bought a birthday card to go with it. Once they'd made their purchases Preston could see that Nigel was getting tired and he asked if he wanted to go home. Nigel yawned and said "yes I'm getting sleepy, it's gone 6.00 o'clock, and we've been out all day. I want to talk to mummy and daddy when they get back from Windsor Castle before I go to bed though, so can we get a taxi instead of going on the train please? I hate those escalators!"

"Oh alright Podge, we'll get a taxi" Preston said, as he saw one coming towards them and flagged it down. Preston helped Nigel get in and then got in beside him, giving the driver their address and asking him to go past St Paul's Cathedral, as he knew Nigel liked to see the beautiful building. However, after about five minutes, Nigel fell fast asleep, leaning against his brother's shoulder, and missed seeing it.

When they got home, Preston carried Nigel up to his bed, taking off his shoes but leaving his clothes on. He covered his little brother up, left the room and went downstairs to have a glass of milk. Unfortunately, ten minutes later, an awful scream came from Nigel's bedroom! Their parents hadn't come home yet so it was Louisa who went in to see what was wrong.

"Are you alright sweetheart!" his nanny asked with concern, as she rushed into his room.

"Yes I'm alright nana, it was just a bad dream" Nigel said looking into his nanny's eyes, hoping she wouldn't ask him anything more. Just then Preston came into his bedroom and gave Louisa her birthday card and present.

"Nanny" Preston said "I bought this present for you, I hope you like it."

Nigel gave his brother an annoyed look as he didn't mention that the gift was from both of them!

"Oh darling, that's so kind of you, but it's not my birthday until tomorrow" she said.

"Oh I know nanny but I want you to have this now" Preston said smiling at her, and then turned to Nigel to give him a warning look.

Louisa opened her present and was absolutely thrilled to bits with it and said "Oh darling it's beautiful, thank you so much Preston, it must have cost a fortune!"

Preston kissed Louisa and said "I'm off to bed now; I have to be up early tomorrow, night nanny."

"Good night Preston, sleep well darling" Louisa said, turning back to Nigel who she noticed was looking upset.

"What's the matter Nigel, you look so sad sweetie, what's wrong?" she said putting her arms around him to give him a cuddle.

"Nana, I.. I.. haven't bought you a present" he said, thinking he'd better not say the necklace was from him too, as nana would ask Preston about it and he didn't want to upset his brother in case he scolded him and changed his mind about visiting the Natural History Museum.

"Darling I don't need a birthday present from you, all I want is a big hug and kiss!" She said, tickling him all over his stomach and under his arms, making him laugh and scream "Stop nana, stop, I need to breathe, please" he giggled. He put his arms around Louisa's shoulders and gave her a kiss on the cheek and said "have a happy birthday nana, I love you."

"I love you too sweetie, now get your clothes off, have a wash, put your pyjamas on and go to sleep! Unless you're hungry" Louisa said, smiling at her most favourite person in the world.

"I'm not hungry nana, I'm exhausted; I just need to sleep please" he said, reaching over to his bedside cabinet for his polar bear, which he put under the covers with him and closed his eyes, too tired to wash and change.

Nigel had several nightmares over the next few months, mostly about the "Elephant Man" and being lost in the museum, but when his parents, or Louisa, came in to his bedroom to calm him down; Nigel didn't tell them what he'd been dreaming about, he just said "I can't remember" or it was about "horrible things."

Sadly, Preston didn't keep his promise to Nigel about taking him to the Natural History Museum, but Nigel kept his about not telling his parents about the museum.

**Age Eleven **

At the age of eleven Nigel was still terribly shy, he'd made no actual friends at school, although he wasn't being bullied by the older boys in his class, which was something his parents, and some of his teachers, had worried about. Nigel did, however, appear to be very lonely and his parents wanted him to have friends. Preston had joined the Boy Scouts when he was eleven, although at the age of fourteen, having become an Eagle Scout, he left. It, therefore, occurred to Emily and Jonathan that Nigel should join; giving him the opportunity to make friends with boys of his own age

Nigel protested, as he wasn't interested at all, but they felt they knew best, and got him into the same Scout Group as Preston used to belong to.

While he was in the Scouts he earned a few badges for various things including swimming, knot tying and map reading. On his first camping trip, never having been away from home before, he was very nervous; although he took part in most of the activities. He helped prepare the campsite and make a fire with the other boys, but after the first couple of days he knew, absolutely, this wasn't the life for him.

Each night, when he went back to his tent, he was too exhausted to read, which really upset him as reading something he truly enjoyed. In the middle of the fourth night, as worn out as he was, he had to leave his tent to go to the loo. Finding his torch he made his way there, which was really scary, as it was so dark, the torch only lighting up a very small area. Unfortunately, quite close to the loos, a branch had fallen to the ground, which he tripped over and broke his left ankle. He was in agony, and almost fainted with the pain, as he lay on the ground screaming for help. It took half an hour for his cries to be heard as the camp was so far away, but once he'd been found, the Scout leader rushed him to hospital where he underwent surgery to pin the bones in his ankle together. His ankle was then put in a splint for six weeks, so that the ankle could heal and he was told that he would probably always have a weakness there so he needed to be very careful.

Following the incident when Nigel broke his ankle, which was six months after he'd originally joined the Scouts, he left, telling his parents it just wasn't his kind of thing. He'd tried really hard to get along with the other boys but, intellectually, he was so far ahead of them, it made them feel inferior, especially when Nigel completed the Sunday Times crossword in half an hour! It wasn't that he didn't like the other boys, or vice versa, it was just they had nothing at all in common, except for the Scouts, which he hated. Socially, however, Nigel was very young, and had no clue how to hold a conversation with them. He truly wanted to make friends, but he just didn't know how. The other boys laughed at him too, when they went camping, as Nigel brought his polar bear with him. However, even though they poked fun at him, he had no intention of giving up his bear, even if he was eleven years old!

His schoolwork was always amazing which, apart from his age, was the main reason the other boys shied away from him. Nigel, however, believed he was useless at mathematics, as he rarely scored over 91% on his tests, although he did score 100% on his first day at school. With this in mind he considered he wouldn't be able to do a job where mathematics was involved! This, of course, was ridiculous because the maths tests he took, at age eleven, were actually designed for university students studying mathematics! The fact that he got such a high percentage right, was astounding to most people, but not to Nigel. He always scored well over 96% on all the other tests he took at this age, and that's why he felt he was no good at maths!

**PLEASE REVIEW**


	4. Chapter 4

**I don't own Relic Hunter or the characters from it **

**Chapter Four**

**Sad Times**

**Age Twelve**

One day, when Nigel was twelve, his father called him into the drawing room for a talk. "Nigel" Jonathan said "your mother and I have been discussing your future and we think that, as you're so far ahead with your schooling, you need to go to a school where a child with your abilities can receive a higher standard of education. We've looked at a number of boarding schools and there's one in particular, The Cavendish Academy for Boys, in Bath, that we think would be perfect for you. They take boys from age nine to eighteen, but you'll be placed with sixteen year olds, as the work you're doing now is closer to that age group. You may have already covered some of it, but not all, so it will be much more interesting for." He looked at Nigel who was staring at him in disbelief!

Nigel shouted at his father "No dad! Please daddy! I don't want to go; I'll be so lonely and miserable, please don't make me go dad, please!"

"Nigel, son, there's no need to shout! I thought you'd be pleased! You keep saying how bored you are at school! Don't you think that a new school is a good idea?" he said, looking at his young son and waiting for his reply.

"A new school yes dad, but not a boarding school! I'd like to go to St Bartholomew's, where Preston went, so I can come home to see you and mummy at night and sleep in my own bed. I'll be bullied at a boarding school; I know I would, like in "Tom Browns School Days" that book I read when I was little!" His eyes filled with tears and Jonathan handed him a tissue.

"Don't cry son, mummy and I will have to have a rethink, we may still decide to send you there but we'll certainly ensure you're not bullied! We'll never allow that to happen again!" he said, remembering when Nigel was five and was kicked by another student. He put his arm over Nigel's shoulders and said "son, I don't want you to worry about this, the thought of you being unhappy at boarding school simply didn't occur to us, your mother and I both went and loved it! Anyway, when I've talked with mummy about what you've just said, I'll have another talk with you." He handed Nigel the Cavendish Academy brochure and said "have a little read of this anyway son" and patted his son on the back.

Two days later Nigel's parents called him into the drawing room for another talk. He went in to see them with tears in his eyes and an expression of fear on his face. Hating to see him so miserable his parents immediately told him that he could go to St Bartholomew's! Nigel's heart almost came out of his mouth; he jumped for joy and hugged them both tightly. "Oh thank you mum, dad, I think I'd have died on the spot if you'd said I have to go to Bath!"

"Darling" Emily said "we don't want to see you unhappy; we considered very carefully what you said and came to the conclusion that you're probably right, you would be miserable away from home. Anyway, daddy and I are going to go to St Bartholomew's in a little while to get a bit more information as even though Preston went there, things have changed in the last year and it actually seems even better, if that's possible! They have a brand new library, some excellent teachers, and a new Headmaster, Mr Lott, who seems very keen and was very kind and considerate to daddy and me. He He nn asked us to come and see him today to discuss final matters, such as what you'd like to study and are good at" she said, seeing the look of delight on Nigel's face.

"Sweetheart, would you please write a list of the subjects you'd like to study" she said handing Nigel a sheet of paper and a pen, "we'll give it to Mr Lott and he'll let us know if the school can accommodate you. We've already explained how bright you are and that we want to ensure you get the very best education." She kissed her young son on the top of his head and said "finish it as quickly as possible, sorry to rush you." He sat at the table, wrote out the list and handed it to his mother.

"Right, we have to go now darling, oh be a good boy and help nanny with the dishes, she's not feeling well at all, but she's refused to go to bed until they're done. The dishwasher's being repaired tomorrow, so that should help." she said, folding up the list and putting it in her handbag. "Bye darling." She kissed Nigel on the cheek and left for the school with Jonathan.

Nigel went into the kitchen and on seeing his nanny looking so sick he said "leave that and go to bed nana, you look tired, I'll finish this up."

"Oh thank you darling, that's sweet of you, I really could do with a rest. Don't come up and see me too often sweetheart, I might be contagious" Louisa said, wiping her hands on the towel and patting him on the head affectionately.

"You have a nice sleep nana" he said, thinking she looked really sick. He blew her a kiss and she blew one back, which seemed to bring on a coughing fit as Louisa took herself off to bed. He felt really worried about her and thought, I'll ask mummy to call the doctor when she comes home.

About an hour later Preston came in with a girl on his arm, which was not a common occurrence as Preston wasn't popular with the girls. He was home from university for a couple of weeks and as soon as he saw Nigel he said "what are you up to Podge? Sally and I would like a bit of privacy so make yourself scarce!"

Nigel glared at him, as although he was a bit chubby at eighteen months old, he was really skinny now, and had been since he was two, so the nickname seemed ridiculous. "Don't call me Podge all the time Preston, my name's Nigel, how would you like it if I kept calling you horrible names!?"

"You wouldn't dare Podge; you know you'd get a slapped backside! Besides, you're a wimp and a right little poof! Preston said in a rather nasty tone of voice.

"I'm not a wimp or a poof! Whatever that is" he said innocently, but knowing it couldn't be anything nice. "I'm going upstairs; you can kiss Sally in peace then!" Nigel made a mental note to find out what a poof was and thought he'd go and check on his nana.

He was just about to leave when there was a loud knock on the door. He looked at Preston, as he'd been told not to answer the door on his own, bearing in mind they lived in a very large house, containing expensive antiques and valuables, and it could be just about anyone out there!

Preston went to the front door and opened it "Is this the Bailey residence?" asked a rather large man with a huge curly moustache.

"Yes it is" Preston said, with a worried look on his face; noticing a uniformed Policeman and Policewoman standing behind the large man, looking very official.

"My name's Sergeant Matthews; are you a relative of Emily and Jonathan Bailey?" the large man enquired, with a rather concerned look on his face. Nigel overheard him say that and went over to the front door to see who it was.

"Yes, they're my parents and this is my little brother" Preston said to the large man, as Nigel popped his head around the door "um, would you mind telling me why you're here?"

"I'm so sorry boys but I have some very bad news for you, I think you should both go inside and I'll explain everything" the Sergeant said. The two boys led their three visitors into the drawing room and they all sat down. Preston asked Sally if she'd mind going into the kitchen so they could talk to the police in private. "Oh, I'll go, it looks you won't be taking me out for that fancy meal, I'll show myself out, bye!" she said abruptly, with an annoyed look on her face. Preston was rather disappointed as it had taken him weeks to persuade her to go out with him; however, he had to give his full attention to the police.

Sergeant Matthews looked at Preston and then at little Nigel and said "I'm afraid I have to give you the awful news that your parents have both been killed in a terrible accident."

The boys were stunned and Preston shouted "that can't be true! It's got to be some sort of mistake!" Nigel tried to speak but the words wouldn't come out, so he just looked at Preston, hoping that he'd sort the man out for upsetting them and lying, but he didn't.

"I'm sorry boys but there's no mistake, your father had his driver's licence on him and your mother had an identity card inside her purse, have you got anyone who can stay with you?" he enquired, just as Nigel started to cry.

"Nanny Wright is here somewhere" Preston said, his face growing paler by the moment.

"She... she's in... in b.. bed sick, Pre.. ston" Nigel said, sobbing his heart out and running towards the drawing room door. The Policewoman grabbed hold of his arm, spun him around to face her and pulled him into a motherly embrace thinking, poor little chap, he must be about nine years old. "It's OK, you just cry sweetheart but I'm sure your big brother will take care of you" she said, feeling so sorry for him.

Suddenly the drawing room door opened and Louisa walked in, wearing her dressing gown and slippers. "What's going on?" she asked, with concern, looking very ill. She saw Nigel being cuddled by the Policewoman and Preston sitting in the leather armchair with his face buried in his hands.

"Nanny" Preston said, in a croaky voice, looking up to her "it's mum and dad; they've been killed in a car accident!"

"Oh my God! Oh my God!" she said, and broke down in tears. A few minutes later she lifted up her head and with a look of desperation on her face asked "what happened?"

The Police Sergeant explained "Mr and Mrs Bailey were parked outside St Bartholomew's School, when a large lorry sped around the corner and crashed into their car, smashing it into a brick wall. Their car was crushed between the lorry and the wall, they must have died instantly, I'm so sorry."

Louisa walked over to Nigel who was still being held by the Policewoman and said "come here darling." She put her arms around him, the same way the Policewoman had and said "don't worry sweetie, I'll take care of you and Preston, it'll be alright."

The Sergeant turned to Preston and said, "I'm afraid I'm going to need you, young man, to officially identify the bodies of your parent's, do you think you'll be able to do that?"

"Uh, Yes" Preston said, completely horrified at the thought of it, but realising he had little choice in the matter. "Do I have to do it now?"

"No lad, you can go to the morgue tomorrow, it's on Surrey Street, I'll meet you there about midday and I'll make sure that you're OK." With that the three police officers started to leave.

"Oh by the way" the Sergeant said, "the driver of the lorry was killed too, we have to go and tell his family now." Preston went to the door with the officers, let them out and then went straight up to his room to cry in private.

Nigel and Louisa were left to digest what they'd just been told and Nigel, who was still sobbing his heart out, said "It's, it's my, my fault nana, it's my fault!"

"Don't be silly Nigel, how could it possibly be your fault!?" she asked in astonishment, holding him even more tightly, but worried he'd catch her cold.

"If I'd said I would go to that boarding school they wouldn't have been at St Bartholomew's, so they wouldn't have died!" he sobbed.

"That's nonsense Nigel and you know it" she said, "you had nothing whatsoever to do with what happened, don't you dare go blaming yourself for that; it was a terrible accident, pure and simple." She cuddled him very tightly not only to comfort him, but also herself.

Nigel cried bitterly through most of the evening, his feelings of guilt and loss overwhelming him. Louisa tried hard to console him but she couldn't, no matter how hard she tried. Thinking she had to do something to calm him down, she put a little brandy in some milk, hoping it would help him sleep, which it did. However, at around 3.00 a.m. he woke up screaming and Preston and Louisa both rushed to his room to try and settle him. Louisa was feeling dreadful and realised she must have the flu, not just a cold, as her temperature was sky high. Preston, on seeing how ill she looked insisted she went back to bed, promising he'd look after Nigel. She knew she'd be of little help to either boys feeling the way she did, so she reluctantly agreed.

Preston lifted Nigel out of bed, sat him on his lap and cuddled him, trying hard to sooth him. Even though Nigel was twelve, he was so tiny he could easily sit on his brother's or nanny's lap. Preston had seen Nigel cry before, but never like this; he was quite simply, heartbroken. Preston stroked Nigel's head and thought, he looks so much like mum; I'm going to be reminded of her every time I look at him. He wanted to cry himself, but knew he had to be strong, as he was the man of the house now.

"Podge, try to calm down" Preston said gently, wiping his brother's tears away. He picked him up, carried him into his own bedroom, put him in his bed and climbed in with him. Holding him close and looking into his swollen eyes, he said "Podge, I'll take care of you, don't worry, try to go to sleep old man." Preston held his little brother until he fell asleep but it was obvious he was having terrible dreams by all the twitching and moaning he did.

In the morning when Preston woke up, Nigel was gone, but on hearing someone in the bathroom, he assumed it was him. Worried that Nigel was taking too long, he went to the bathroom and found the door wide open. He could see his little brother leaning over the toilet throwing up and went in to see him. "Podge, are you alright?" he asked, seeing how pale he looked. He didn't answer; he just threw up again and then went over to the sink. On picking up a plastic beaker to drink some water, he dropped it, and fainted. Luckily Preston caught him, before he hit the floor, and carried him back to bed. "Wake up Podge, please wake up, I can't cope with you and nanny both being ill!" He tapped Nigel's cheek and he opened his eyes.

"Preston, what happened?" he asked as he tried to sit up.

"You fainted Podge; do you feel alright now, or should I call the doctor?"

"Where's nanny? She'll look after me, I don't need a doctor Preston, please don't ring him!" Nigel pleaded.

"Nanny isn't well either Podge, just lie still for a minute, I want to go and see how she is this morning; she was really sick last night, even too ill to look after you!" He looked at Nigel and could see he was really unwell; he was a white as a sheet and obviously had a temperature.

He went to see Louisa and said "good morning nanny, how're you today? I hope you're feeling better."

"Good morning darling, I'm feeling much better than last night" she said coughing a little.

"Shall I call Doctor Price to see you? Podge has been sick, so he might need to see him too" he said with great concern.

"I don't need to see a doctor Preston, I'll be fine" she said, getting out of bed and putting on her dressing gown and slippers. "You say Nigel's been sick" she said, rushing towards her bedroom door with Preston following her saying "he's in my bed, he slept with me last night, I just didn't know how else to calm him down."

"Oh Preston, that was so good of you sweetheart, I've never felt so awful as I did last night, if it hadn't been for you I don't know what I'd have done." She went into Preston's bedroom to see Nigel and as soon as he saw her he burst into tears again.

"Na ....Nana" he cried and threw up on the bed! Louisa went over to him, lifted him out of bed and sat him on her lap, checking immediately to see if he had a temperature.

She called Doctor Price and told him the terrible news about Emily and Jonathan, and explained that Nigel was ill. The doctor immediately came out to the house and said "I'm afraid Nigel has stomach flu, Mrs Wright, there's a lot of it going around at the moment."

"Yes I'm just getting over it myself, I had a high temperature last night but I'm feeling much better now, I must have given it to Nigel" she replied.

He took Louisa's temperature, saw it was almost normal and advised that Nigel should take some Paracetamol to bring down his temperature. He then asked Louisa to remind him how old Nigel was, as he was so small. "He's actually twelve but he's always been tiny for his age" she said. He gave Louisa a mild sedative to give to him before he goes to bed, realising he was going to have a lot of trouble sleeping with the way things were.

Over the next few days Louisa did everything she could to help Nigel deal with his feelings, but it was very difficult; he wasn't crying as much, but he was being very quiet and refused to eat. Louisa knew it wasn't just the flu preventing him from eating, he was grieving. Even though she and Preston were devastated by their loss, it was young Nigel who was affected the most, as his world was completely shattered. After a few days he recovered from the worst effects of the flu but they knew it would take him much longer to get over the loss of his parents.

Preston had been to the morgue to identify his parents and he'd made arrangements for their joint funeral. The funeral was attended by over eighty people including friends of the couple, a few distant relatives and people from the University of London, where Jonathan had worked, and some from Emily's law firm.

Nigel was inconsolable as he stood at his parent's graveside in between Louisa and her brother, Frederick, who was well known to the Baileys, and was loved very much by the two boys. Nigel got quite hysterical at one point and Frederick, who was a very caring individual, picked him up and carried him back to the church. He wiped Nigel's tear stained face with his handkerchief and held him tight, trying to calm him down.

After the funeral everyone came back to the house. Preston appeared to be dealing with his grief very well and was quite embarrassed by Nigel's behaviour, feeling he should've been able to control his emotions at his age. He'd never been comfortable with public displays of emotion, or affection and kept apologising, explaining that his brother, whom he'd sent to bed, was going to get lecture when everyone had gone home. Most of the guests told Preston that he was wrong and felt it was natural for a little boy to behave as he did, in such circumstances. Preston retaliated by saying "you should realise he's not as young as he looks; he's actually twelve years old" but he could tell by their faces, that that made no difference to them.

When the last guest had gone Preston went to see Nigel; he was furious and wanted to vent his anger. Nigel was sitting in bed with his knees bent up in front of his chest with his arms wound around them. Frederick was gently talking to him, which seemed to have settled him a little. When Preston came in he asked Frederick to leave so that he could talk to his brother privately. Frederick kissed Nigel on top of the head and said "I'll go and get a cup of tea and come back in a while OK son?"

"Alright Uncle Frederick, see you in a minute" Nigel said quietly, not really wanting him to leave.

"Right young man" Preston said, speaking more like his father than his brother "you behaved appallingly today and you deserve to be punished for making such a fuss. You were disruptive at the funeral and it was very embarrassing for me and I'm sure for nanny!"

Nigel started to cry again and said between sobs "I, I couldn't hel.. help it! I miss mummy and daddy so ba.. bad Preston, don't you?"

"Of course I miss them Podge but you still shouldn't have behaved the way you did in front of everyone. I'm sorry but I'm afraid I'm going to have to punish you this time." Nigel's heart almost skipped a beat. He looked at Preston nervously and said "what are you going to do to me Preston? I didn't mean to be naughty, please don't smack me, please!"

"Alright Podge, this time I won't, but you'll have no pocket money for two weeks, and no sweets for a week, do I make myself clear young man!?"

"Yes Preston, thank you" he said very quietly.

"Furthermore you will apologise to me and nanny for your bad behaviour" he said, very sternly.

"I'm sorry Preston" he said and led down on top of the bed with his back to his brother. Preston could tell he was crying again but it didn't bother him as long as it wasn't in public. He left him on his own, saying "you can apologise to nanny later on!"

Frederick came up to see Nigel again, passing Preston as he left the room, and said "son are you feeling a bit better now?" thinking at first that Preston had been comforting him, but then he saw Nigel's face.

"I'm alright Uncle Frederick" Nigel said wiping his eyes and putting on a brave face.

"I bought you some chocolate, I meant to give it you yesterday but I forgot; it's your favourite" he said smiling.

"Sorry Uncle Frederick, Preston said I'm not allowed to have sweets for a week, I'm being punished for being so naughty today; you eat it" he said miserably.

"What did you do that was so naughty Nigel?" he asked, completely bewildered.

"I embarrassed Preston and nanny at the funeral by crying" he replied.

"That's ridiculous son, you have every right to cry, you're just a youngster, you can't be expected to behave like a grown up, I'm going to see him about this!" he said angrily.

"No! Please don't say anything Uncle Frederick! Preston will be horrible to me when you go home if you do! He can do what he likes now mum and dad aren't here to stop him" Nigel said with a pleading look in his eyes.

Frederick was very worried about what he'd said and was about to say so when Nigel continued "Preston can be so kind to me too, especially if I'm not well, so I'm sure everything will be alright, if I'm good."

"Well alright then, I won't say anything this time, but I'm going to put the chocolate in your bedside cabinet for you" he said, feeling he really wanted to give Preston a lecture on how to treat a grieving child, although not wanting to cause any problems between the two brothers, he decided against it.

"Do you want to come down to watch that documentary on the Mayan's Nigel?" Frederick asked, hoping that would cheer him up.

"Yes please" Nigel said getting up off his bed, hoping that Preston wouldn't send him back immediately he saw him! Frederick put his arm around Nigel's shoulders and they went downstairs to the drawing room where they saw Preston working at the desk.

"Do you mind if Nigel and I watch the television Preston, there's a programme on we both want to see?" Frederick asked.

"Sorry, no I'm busy in here" Preston said without even looking up.

Nigel turned to Frederick and said "let's ask nanny if we can watch it in her bedroom." Preston heard what his little brother said and reminded him to apologise to her before asking for a favour.

"I will Preston" Nigel said looking down at the ground.

They found Louisa in the kitchen where she was peeling some vegetables for dinner, the cook being off sick with a migraine. She smiled as they walked in and said "what are you two up to then?"

"Nana" Nigel said, looking very sad "I want to apologise to you for crying so much today; I'm very sorry for being so naughty and embarrassing you, I'll try to be good in future."

"Darling, you weren't naughty, you were just upset, come here sweetie" she said, feeling so sorry for him. He rushed over to her and she hugged him very tightly, saying "you did nothing you need to apologise for, sweetheart." She let him go, ruffled his hair and said "now do you or Frederick want a nice cup of tea or some juice?" Neither one of them wanted a drink; all they wanted was to watch the television in her room which, of course, was no problem.

The following day the family lawyer, Mr Middleton, who'd been a close friend of Jonathans for many years, visited the house to read the Wills. Unfortunately, just before the reading, Nigel fainted, probably because he wasn't eating properly and couldn't cope with so much going on in relation to his dead parents. The family cook, who'd recovered from her migraine, looked after Nigel, as it was vital Louisa attended the reading, although Nigel's presence was unnecessary, as he was a child.

Mr Middleton sat down and read out Jonathan's Will first which began "This is the Last Will and Testament of Jonathan Bailey ....." He read out the whole Will and Preston and Nigel were left half of the family home each. The house was, in fact, initially left to Emily but in the event of her death, it was to pass to his sons."

Jonathan, who was a millionaire, had also left each of his sons a half share of his fortune, which they'd receive when they individually reached the age of twenty five. In the meantime they'd receive a monthly allowance; different amounts depending on their ages, but at twenty one they'd receive a much larger sum, which would increase yearly until they were twenty five. Mr Middleton was left in charge of all financial matters, including the running of the family estate, until Preston was twenty one; when he would take over responsibility for that, although he would not be in charge of the money their father left them personally, or for money that had been set aside for Nigel's education. Mr Middleton would stay in charge of Preston's money, but they would jointly oversee Nigel's until he was twenty five. Jonathan had left strict instructions that Nigel was to be given every advantage in respect of his education and no expense should be spared. He'd previously set aside money for Preston's education, and some of it had, obviously, been used. The rest of the money for his education would now be administered by Mr Middleton.

The lawyer, really liked Preston and told him that, even though his own education was all arranged, he expected him to find a suitable school and university for Nigel to attend in the future, stating that he only wanted to be concerned with the financial side of that.

Preston was also going to be expected to take care of Nigel and bring him up as a gentleman, which at the age nineteen he felt very apprehensive about. He felt that everyone who knew the family would be watching him to see how he handled it. He was also very nervous about being in charge of the family estate in a couple of years but he knew he had little choice in the matter.

Jonathan had a lot of valuables but he particularly wanted Nigel to have his gold ring and gold watch while Preston he thought would appreciate having his diamond tie pin and matching cufflinks, which were worth a small fortune.

He left Louisa a large sum of money to ensure that she could pay off her mortgage, as even though she had a lovely room at the Bailey's house, where she stayed most of the time, she actually lived just a few streets away, in a two bedroom town house; which both Preston and Nigel often visited.

When Jonathan's Will was completed, Mr Middleton read out Emily's, which caused quite a stir, as she'd left her sons £850,000 each, which Mr Middleton was to put in a high interest bank account and partly invest. The boys were only to be allowed access to it when they individually reached the age of twenty one.

Emily also left Louisa £20,000 because she loved her and knew that, if anything happened to her, Louisa would look after her sons, like they were her own.

The days following the funeral and reading of the Wills were very sad, as both boys missed their parents terribly, particularly Nigel; who'd almost stopped eating and was losing weight. Bearing in mind he was already quite thin and tiny for his age; Louisa was at her wits end and threatened to take him to the hospital. He begged her not to, promising he would try harder, as he was terrified of hospitals. He eventually managed things like soup, milk and fruit, although it took a little while before he could eat "solid food".

About three weeks after their terrible loss Preston began to behave like "the master of the house" and felt he'd have to do something about Nigel as he had to return to university very soon, having already been away a week longer than the other students.

Although Mr Middleton was actually in charge of all financial matters, Nigel thought that Preston was, and he let Nigel believe it. As Nigel hadn't attended the reading of the Wills he had no idea how things were supposed to work. However, Louisa ensured that he knew he was financially secure for the rest of his life and that half of the house was his, although she didn't mention actual sums of money, feeling it was best not to tell him.

Preston had been at Cambridge University for a year, spending half the week on campus and the rest of it at home. He knew that Louisa wouldn't have the energy to look after Nigel 24 hours a day, as well as keep the very large house in order, so he made the decision that Nigel must go to boarding school.

He could have easily got their lawyer to hire extra help in the house so that Louisa would only have to look after Nigel in the evenings and weekends. However, Preston had absolutely no intention of doing of that. He wanted Nigel away from home as much as possible, realising with him away, Louisa would spend more time at her own home, enabling him to do as he pleased. At the moment though, Louisa had no choice but to do everything herself, she was, however, finding it exhausting.

Preston had found the brochure for the Cavendish Academy and decided it would be a good idea to send him there, knowing full well his parents had changed their minds about Nigel going to boarding school.

He called Nigel down from his room, sat him down on the sofa, and said "Podge, you know I have to go back to university and that I'll be there most of the week so I won't be able to look after you?"

"Yes, I know Preston, that's alright, I can look after myself and nana's here most of the time, so it'll be alright, you don't need to worry, I'll be good" he said innocently.

"I'm not worried about that Podge, I just want what's best for us all, you me and nanny. I think that the best course of action is for you to go to the Cavendish Academy" he said, pretending it was for Nigel's "own good" and had nothing to do with him wanting the house to himself and that he'd actually begun to blame him for their parent's death!

"What! No! I won't go! It's a boarding school, mummy and daddy changed their minds about me going there; they knew I'd be unhappy!! They said I can go to St Bartholomew's!" he yelled.

"Stop shouting young man!" Preston said, raising his hand like he was going to slap him. Nigel covered his head with his hands and ducked down to protect himself, but luckily the slap never came. Preston went on "I'm sorry Podge but you are going to boarding school, even if I have to drag you there kicking and screaming! Don't you think you owe it to mum and dad to go there after what happened?!!"

Nigel looked at his brother in horror; and it crossed his mind, just then, that he might have started to blame him for their parent's death too, like he was blaming himself, and felt just awful, but he was too afraid to ask Preston about it.

Preston then continued "I'm in charge of your education and I'm not prepared to pay for you to go to St Bartholomew's, you'll go to The Cavendish Academy, which will almost certainly guarantee you a place at Cambridge by the time you're eighteen."

"Please Preston, don't do this, I'll still go to university no matter which school I attend, I'll be really good, I promise, you won't even know I'm here, please Preston, please!!"

Preston glared at him and said very sternly "Podge you are going to The Cavendish Academy and that's that! You can finish up at St John's in six weeks, when the term ends, and then you're off to boarding school, two weeks after that!"

Nigel knew by now that nothing was going to change Preston's mind so he shouted "Alright, I'll go, I'll go!" and ran up to his room to cry in private.

Nigel came home from school about three weeks after he'd been told about boarding school, and handed his brother an envelope from his teacher. He'd no idea what was in it; he was just told it was a surprise. Preston opened it and noted it contained a consent form and letter advising that the school were taking six of their best students on a trip to the Lake District. The trip was to take place the following week and they wanted Preston's permission for Nigel to go. They'd left it late to ask because they weren't sure if he'd be up to going, having only recently lost his parents.

Preston explained what was in the letter and told Nigel he felt the trip would do him good. "Podge, they're going to do abseiling, canoeing, swimming, hiking and all sorts of other things; don't you think it'll be fun?" he asked, knowing full well Nigel would hate it!

"No I don't think it'll be fun Preston, you know the problems I'll have if I do some of those things, I'd rather go to school!" Nigel said with tears in his eyes.

"Yes, I know all about that Podge, but I think you should try those things, you might be alright; it'll be an adventure!" What Preston was really thinking was he'd have the house to himself for a week. If Nigel had known what was in the envelope he'd never have given it to him but, as it was, he wanted him to go, so he had no choice. He looked at his brother with a very worried expression on his face and said "OK, I'll go but I bet those things will make me ill!" Preston just smiled at him thinking, he's such a wimp!

The day of the trip arrived and Nigel was really nervous. It took four hours to get there and he was travel sick several times.

When they arrived he saw they'd be staying in a wooden cabin, there were six in all, each cabin being designed to sleep eight people. Since there were only eight of them, six boys, and two teachers, they all shared the same cabin.

On arrival the six boys, all aged sixteen except for Nigel, were told to unpack, put away their clothes, change into their swimming trunks and meet the two teachers, Mr Jones and Mr Dix, by the river. Nigel was dreading it, but he did as he was told. "Come on boys" Mr Jones shouted, "let's get into the river and swim for an hour or so, it'll freshen you all up after that long journey."

Nigel sat on a log by the side of the river, hoping nobody would notice him, and watched the other boys, and the two teachers, jump in. Mr Jones, on seeing Nigel just sitting there, got out of the water, crept up behind him, picked him up, and threw him in! Nigel sank deep under the water and struggled to get up as being tossed in like that had knocked the wind out of him, and the water was so cold! The teacher stood there with his hands on his hips, laughing as he watched Nigel looking so shocked and said "don't be such a baby, enjoy yourself, I know you can swim!" Just then the other boys all swam towards him and began splashing around, laughing and having fun. Nigel hated it but felt embarrassed with the other boys there and pretended to enjoy it too. However, ten minutes later he managed to sneak out, leaving everyone else in the river, although they got out pretty soon too, the water being so cold.

"OK boys" Mr Dix said "let's get some lunch, you can do whatever you like this afternoon, although at about 5.30 p.m. I think we'll have an early dinner and go for a walk before bedtime." The boys followed him to a larger cabin, which was being used as a canteen and got some food, Nigel eating very little as he was feeling so miserable, although he was trying hard to hide his feelings.

When everyone finished their food Nigel read a book on geology, while the other boys and the two teachers played football. When they'd had dinner they started on a two mile hike, which Nigel began to really enjoy as the scenery was so beautiful around the lakes. Unfortunately, when they'd been walking for an hour, his ear started hurting and he began to feel disorientated. He clung on to a tree and shouted for Mr Jones to come back and explained the problem.

"Do you often get earaches Nigel?" his teacher asked, looking at his student's ear and holding him under one arm to keep him steady.

"No, not really, only if I go too deep under water, it's the water pressure and getting into very cold water that affects my ears. I apparently have something called middle ear syndrome, it makes me a bit giddy too" he said.

"You should have told me Nigel; I'd have never thrown you in the river like that if I'd known!"

"Sir, you came up behind me I didn't know you were going to do it; oh gosh it's really hurting Sir!" Nigel said, rubbing his ear.

"It's not far to go now Nigel, do you need to see a doctor or will some pain killers do the trick?" his concerned teacher asked.

"Pills will help Sir" Nigel said wincing with the pain.

Mr Jones walked with Nigel all the way back to the cabin, steadying him and offering to carry him if he needed it. He was too embarrassed to let his teacher do that and tried really hard to put on a brave face.

It took twenty minutes to get back to the cabin from the time he first complained about his ear and he was quite distressed by then.

Mr Jones immediately got some pills, sat him down on the bed next to him, and held him until the painkillers took effect. Once the pain was less intense, Nigel brushed his teeth, got into his pyjamas and went to bed.

The next day Nigel was feeling a little better, his earache had more or less gone and he knew he had to try and enjoy the "adventure", hoping it would be a water free day! He ate a little breakfast and Mr Jones noticed he looked a little happier.

"Right boys" Mr Dix said, "We're going to go abseiling today, so get into the Jeeps and Mr Jones and I will drive you to the site." Nigel was shaking with fear, but did as he was told. When they got to the cliff they were going to abseil down, Mr Dix got the six boys together, gave them each a helmet and helped them all put on a harness. Nigel's helmet and harness were a bit too big, but Mr Dix managed to make them fit him securely enough to use. Mr Dix then demonstrated how to descend down the cliff, not realising Nigel suffered from acrophobia and that he'd never even climbed a tree before!

"OK Nigel, lean back, jump away and bounce against the cliff as you descend" Mr Dix said; without considering how young he was compared to the other boys. Nigel followed his teacher's instructions; not wanting to appear cowardly, but his heart was in his mouth! He did quite well, bearing in mind how terrified he was, but as he got near the bottom his rope got caught and he swung around hitting his right shoulder really hard against a jagged rock. He also got a deep scratch on the left side of his chest, as he struggled to free himself; and various other cuts and bruises. Mr Dix managed to manipulate the rope and got him down to the ground safely, where he examined him and saw he was bleeding quite badly. Mr Jones rushed over with a towel, pressed it against his injured shoulder and said "I think you're going to need a few stitches in that son!" Nigel was, obviously in a lot of pain and tried not to cry as his teacher picked him up, carried him to the jeep and took him to the hospital.

He got four stitches in his shoulder, a tetanus injection and a big cuddle from a nurse who thought he was adorable, and far too tiny to go abseiling! The doctor that attended Nigel told him he'd probably be left with a couple of scars on his chest, which would make him look really tough!

When Nigel left the hospital he asked Mr Jones if he could go home. His teacher, realising he'd be unable to take part in anything else on the holiday, rang Preston and asked him to collect his little brother, explaining what had happened and saying that he thought Nigel was a plucky little chap, who really tried hard to please his teachers. He also added that even though Nigel was old enough to take part in the activities on this holiday, he simply wasn't big or strong enough yet, which he hadn't realised when he asked him to come on the trip.

It took Preston three and a half hours to reach the Lake District, in his brand new car, that Mr Middleton had allowed him to purchase to get him to and from university. He was absolutely livid that Nigel had gotten himself into such a state, as he'd been so looking forward to having the house to himself and being able to do as he pleased without the intrusion of his little brother although, at least, he thought, he's off to boarding school in a few of weeks.

**PLEASE REVIEW **

**In the next chapter you'll find out the terrible things that happened to Nigel at Boarding School!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

**Boarding School**

**Age 13 **

It was Nigel's thirteenth birthday; he'd been at boarding school for less than eight months and he absolutely hated it! Not the lessons, they were interesting, as he was learning new things, but being in a class full of the kind of sixteen year olds that were at this school, wasn't pleasant, and Nigel had made no friends whatsoever. His teacher, Clive Green, was nice to him but he made him feel quite uncomfortable at times, although, he didn't know why he felt that way, he just did.

"Nigel, please stay behind after class this afternoon" Mr Green said, just before the bell was due to ring. Nigel wondered why he wanted to see him and hoped he'd done nothing wrong.

Mr Green thought Nigel was an extremely pleasant child who was very obedient. He also considered he was a very lonely boy who'd probably love to have a friend. He'd made it his business to find out as much as he could about Nigel and his family and believed he knew him quite well.

When the bell rang all of the students left, except Nigel, who stayed at his desk looking at Mr Green with a rather worried expression on his young face.

"Nigel" Mr Green said "come over here." He slowly walked over to him and looked up at his teacher, thinking, I hope I'm not going to be punished! Mr Green was at least six feet two inches tall and Nigel felt very intimidated by him. "I want to give you a birthday present young man" he said, handing over a box wrapped in blue shiny paper with a tag hanging from it which said "To Nigel Bailey, my very clever pupil - regards Mr Green"

"Oh thank you Sir, what is it?" Nigel asked, his eyes getting wider and wider as he looked at the box.

"Open it and see" he said, helping Nigel to rip off the wrapping paper and put it in the bin. He looked inside, and to his amazement and joy, saw it was a microscope!

"Oh, my goodness, it's just what I wanted, how did you know Sir!? he said, feeling so pleased.

"I have my sources" he said. "Now, Nigel, I think you should show me how grateful you are to receive such a wonderful gift."

"Sir I am grateful, very grateful!" Nigel said giving him a really happy broad smile, which in later life would make girls' hearts skip a beat!

"I suppose you are, but don't you think you should give me a hug to say thank you!?" he said, opening up his arms. Nigel looked a little surprised, but thought, it'll be OK, he's my teacher, so he walked over to him, stretched out his arms and attempted to put them around his teacher's waist, which was about as far as he could reach. However, before he was able to do this Mr Green put his hands underneath Nigel's outstretched arms, picked him up, swung him around and pulled him into a very tight embrace! Nigel was speechless as his teacher squeezed him tightly, stood him on a chair, and said "you're a very special young man, you're so beautiful, you've got such soulful eyes and beautiful lips, I just want you to be my special boy, now give me a nice big kiss!!" Mr Green closed his eyes, pressed his lips onto Nigel's mouth, forced his tongue inside, and then, not letting go of him, he put his hand inside the back of Nigel's trousers and squeezed and rubbed his behind, while continuing to kiss him!

To Mr Green's astonishment Nigel bit his tongue, pulled his head away and gasped for air! He wriggled and spat at him, screaming "put me down, put me down!! Let me go!" He then kicked his teacher's thighs a spat at him again!

"Be quiet boy and stop kicking me or you'll regret it! he said viciously "you'll be in serious trouble if you say another word!" Nigel stopped and looked at his teacher in horror. "If you say the slightest thing about anything I did or said to you, other than the fact that I bought you a birthday present, I will break every bone in your skinny little body and I will kill your precious nanny and brother! Do you understand!!?" he ranted, looking at Nigel menacingly.

Nigel shook his head, the rest of his body was shaking too, he was quite clearly terrified, "I wo... wo... won't say any... anything Sir, I prom.. promise, ca... ca... can I go now please?" he said with tears in his eyes.

Mr Green lifted him off the chair and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Right boy, now wipe your face and you can go, but just remember what I said, I'll kill you and your family if you say a word, am I clear!!?"

"Yes Sir, clear Sir" he said running out of the room, almost dropping the box containing the microscope, which he knew he'd never open again. He went into the dormitory, put the box into the communal cupboard, threw himself onto his bed and sobbed. The consequences of revealing what Clive Green had done to him were too terrifying for Nigel to think about and, of course, it would only be his word against a well respected teacher anyway. He was dreading facing that monster every day but knew he had no choice, believing he'd have to act as if nothing had happened in order to keep his nanny and brother safe.

He felt very distressed as he lay on his bed and desperately tried not to think about the horrible experience he'd just been through. Suddenly, one of the other teachers came in and saw him lying there looking just awful and without saying a word, picked him up and carried him to see the school nurse.

"What seems to be the trouble young man?" Nurse Hays asked, feeling his forehead.

"I just don't feel very well" he said.

"Why are you shaking and breathing like that? Have you've been running, or are you upset about something?" she asked, as she put a stethoscope to Nigel's chest and listened to his heart.

"No I haven't been running I just got a bit frightened and it made me feel sick, is it alright if I stay here tonight?" he asked, thinking he would feel safer away from the dormitory on that particular night.

"Yes, you can sleep over there, if you like" the kind nurse said, pointing to a bed in the corner of the room. "Your heart's beating really fast Nigel, what frightened you so badly?" she asked, as she handed him a glass of water and a mild sedative to calm him down.

He tried to think quickly "Um, one of the other boys pretended to be a ghost and he jumped out at me, it was such a shock!" he lied.

Nurse Hays believed him and wrote down the details in her record book, which was standard practice. She also looked up Nigel's health records and realised it was his birthday today. She was very surprised to note he was thirteen, thinking he was more like ten, and went over to wish him a happy birthday; but he was asleep. She very gently stroked his head and thought he looked so sweet. Luckily the sedative had taken effect as without that he probably wouldn't have slept at all that night.

* * *

For quite some time, following the assault, Nigel hardly spoke to anyone at school and studied extra hard to try and keep the incident off his mind.

Clive Green continued to be his teacher and although he still lusted over Nigel; he never attempted to touch him again. This teacher taught various lessons, one of them being astronomy, which Nigel really enjoyed. Sometimes, however, Mr Green showed a movie about the various planets in our solar system and this meant that the classroom was in darkness, which made Nigel extremely uneasy!

During most holidays, when Nigel came home, prior to the incident with Clive Green, he'd complain to Preston about being miserable and lonely at school. Unfortunately, this all fell on deaf ears, as Preston was absolutely adamant he should stay where he was. Preston would say that he'd get used to it and would make some friends if he tried harder, or he'd say he was making a fuss about nothing. Nigel would get upset, but he was too scared of his brother to argue really forcefully as Preston had become quite a disciplinarian since their parents had died.

However, three weeks after the assault, Nigel came home for a four day break, where he stayed in his room a lot trying to think of as many unpleasant things about the school as possible, some true, some made up, in an attempt to persuade his brother to remove him from the Academy.

Louisa was worried about him, having noticed he'd lost his appetite again, and said "what's wrong sweetheart? You look so pale and thin, why aren't you eating more, or sitting out in the sunshine?" To which he replied "I'm not as active as other boys of my age, I like studying and being in my room but I'm lonely at school, I want to go to St Bartholomew's." He just babbled, as he simply couldn't tell her the truth about what happened to him, or certain other things about the Academy that would have upset her. She gave him a hug and said "well sweetheart, it's not likely that Preston will let you leave until he finishes university; just try and stick it out for a bit longer and come down to the kitchen occasionally to talk to me like you used to!"

When he came down to dinner, on the first day he was home, he told Preston all of the things he'd thought of that day to make the school sound like an undesirable place to be. He tried to stay calm, and be polite when explaining the "problems" however, Preston completely ignored him; which upset Nigel who began to shout. His brother gave him a stern look and said "don't you dare raise your voice to me young man or you'll be in deep trouble!" Nigel looked down and felt quite nervous but as he was so worried about going back to school he started to complain again. He did his best to be respectful, realising Preston would punish him if he shouted again. However, his brother just laughed and said "you're a silly little boy if you think I'm going to believe such nonsense!" On hearing this Nigel completely lost his temper and called him a bloody selfish swine, at the top of his voice! Nigel suddenly realised what he'd done, but it was too late; without further warning, Preston took hold of him, dragged him up to his bedroom and said "I will not tolerate that kind of behaviour from you, I warned you not to raise your voice and you chose to ignore me, now you'll suffer the consequences!" He pulled out a wooden chair, placed it in the middle of the room, hauled his struggling brother across his lap, and smacked him really hard for well over two minutes! Nigel screamed and kicked but his brother was too strong and he couldn't get free. He cried his heart out as his brother punished him but he was shown no mercy. Preston told him that this was what their mother would have done had either of them sworn or been rude to her. However, that wasn't quite true, as she'd never have punished either of them in anger and would never have given either of them more than ten swats! Once Preston had calmed down he lifted his sobbing brother off his lap and hugged him, telling him he loved him and that all was forgiven. Unfortunately, this didn't make Nigel feel any better as all he wanted was for his brother to listen, and understand how unhappy he was at school.

Nanny Wright would always go in to see Nigel after he'd been punished and hug him until he stopped crying, explaining that both she and Preston loved him very much but that he mustn't be rude to his big brother.

Preston knew there was no point in grounding Nigel, because he never went anywhere and had no friends. He couldn't stop him having sweets or desserts, as he didn't eat enough as it was, although he had used this punishment before. Nigel also had nothing in his room that could be taken away as his interests all revolved around his studies. So really smacking Nigel was, in his mind, the only way to discipline his "naughty" younger brother.

On the second day of Nigel's visit home, the two brothers had further arguments about the Academy, which ended up with Nigel being punished even more severely. The following two days he still complained, but kept his temper, as he couldn't sit down as it was. His brother just stopped listening to him and Nigel had to face the awful fact that he'd have to go back to the Academy until Preston graduated.

For the next seven or eight months Nigel continued to make up stories about his school but along with the stories he'd always say the same thing; he was unhappy and lonely. When doing this he tried really hard not to shout or swear at his brother, but failed many times and ended up over his brother's lap. In the end Nigel became too frightened of Preston to continue the arguments and began to stay in his room most of the time he was home.

It didn't occur to Preston that Nigel had become withdrawn, but at times he took advantage of his brother's "love" of seclusion and entertained "ladies" in the drawing room. To ensure his "friends" were not disturbed Preston made up some new house rules saying "Podge, you're not to come downstairs after you've had dinner and you're not to watch television or play the piano in the drawing room at any time, without my permission, is that clear?"

"Yes Preston" Nigel said, too frightened to ask why.

From then on, whenever Nigel came home from school, Preston would tell him, so as to make absolutely certain he stayed in his room, that he was very busy and wanted no noise. This was, of course, not true as Preston had plenty of free time; he just didn't want to spend it with a child. Nigel didn't mind anymore as he knew if he spent too much time with his brother, he'd complain about the school, Preston would get angry, and he'd end up with a sore backside!

Nigel also knew it was futile to constantly ask his nana to get Preston to reconsider his stance on his education, as he was, effectively, Louisa's boss. Preston, however, loved her like a mother and never behaved that way, although he would assert himself if he felt she was treating him like a child. Louisa had tried so hard, on Nigel's behalf, to change Preston's mind, but he always refused. She'd also tried to persuade him, many times, to be less harsh when disciplining Nigel.

* * *

The Headmistress of the Cavendish Academy, Mrs Bixby, was a very strict woman who was about fifty nine years old. Behind her back most of the students called her "The Dragon Lady" and she was of a generation that believed that children should be seen and not heard. If she'd had her way all of the boys in the school would be beaten on a regular basis, just to keep them in line, whether they'd done anything wrong or not! Nigel was terrified of her and avoided going near her office, choosing the long way round to the dining room each day, rather than go past her door.

Nigel was constantly being bullied by the other boys, not just by the older boys in his class, but younger children too, who all seemed to be bigger than him. Corporal punishment was still permitted in private schools at this time but not all of the teachers used it. Mrs Bixby, therefore, allowed the prefects to cane or smack other students when they misbehaved, as this was a way she could ensure the boys were disciplined. Unfortunately, quite a few of the prefects abused their authority and punished little boys for the slightest thing, or sometimes for nothing at all!!

Poor Nigel found himself, on many occasion, being thrashed by a prefect; usually for being late for class, because he was hiding from a bully and couldn't escape. Lateness generally got him four strokes of the cane, usually on his behind, but sometimes on the back of his legs. They sometimes beat him just because they could, as Nigel was completely defenceless. Preston had warned him from the moment he'd entered this school that if he heard he'd been disobedient, or been punished for any reason, he'd be smacked again when he came home. Nigel knew he meant it too, as he'd thrashed him so often! Other students had been told the same thing by their parents, so at least Nigel wasn't alone there!

There was also a strict code conduct about telling tales on your fellow students at this school and many other boarding schools throughout England at that time. These bullying prefects relied on this code, and all of the boys felt obliged to abide by it, as there was a terrible stigma attached to being branded "a tell tale".

Nigel felt so unhappy at school, although he loved most of his lessons, as they took his mind off his situation. When he wasn't in class he was almost always in the library or dormitory studying one thing or another, but occasionally he'd sit and daydream. On foggy days, which he loved, he'd sit with his head against a window, with a faraway look in his eyes, imagining his parents outside waving and blowing him kisses. He missed them terribly and frequently cried himself to sleep remembering how things used to be. He often had nightmares about their death and still dreamed about that spooky museum that Preston took him to, but in the last few years he'd begun to have bad dreams about the school and Preston. He sometimes woke up the other boys with his crying and screaming so he'd be taken to the isolation room to sleep.

**Age 15**

One day, when Nigel awoke, he felt quite nauseous, although after being sick he felt much better and got ready for class. Making his way there, he got frightened, as he knew he was late and his new teacher, Mr Drake, who was actually Mrs Bixby's brother; was extremely cold hearted and strict. Nigel tried to explain his lateness but Mr Drake didn't care, he just told him to report to the gym at 4.00 p.m. where he'd be punished, once again, for his tardiness. Nigel was dreading it as he knew how painful the cane was having received it so often.

At the assigned time Nigel made his way to the gym, where he met with three prefects, instead of the usual two. "Come in Bailey" said Fulford, the oldest of the three boys who were going to punish him. He had huge muscles and must have been working out for years to be in such amazing shape. As Nigel walked in the other two boys pulled him over to a bench which they'd placed at one end of the gym.

"Pull his trousers and underwear down!" Fulford demanded, and laughed as he saw the mortified look on Nigel's face; he'd never been caned like this before and screamed "No, No, you can't do this! Let me go!" He struggled to free himself but the two boys kept a firm grip on him.

"I think you'll find we can do this Bailey! You've been punished several times before and it, obviously, hasn't sunk in that you need to be on time! If you don't take it like a man, and keep complaining, you'll get fifteen strokes instead of twelve, am I making myself clear!?" Fulford said with a sadistic look on his face. Nigel was in shock and didn't answer. The two younger boys pulled his trousers and underwear down to his ankles, bent him over the bench; causing Nigel to shake with fear and feel sick again. They held his arms really tightly, so he couldn't get free, and then there was an almighty swish and the cane hit Nigel's backside! He screamed and cried as the pain was just awful, but Fulford kept hitting him as hard as he could, time and time again, until he'd given him ten strokes across his behind and a couple at the tops of his thighs. He almost passed out with the ferocity of the beating and as the two boys let go of him he dropped to the floor. He gradually pulled himself up again, rubbed his behind and thighs to relieve the pain, and noticed his hands were covered in blood! Still crying he gently pulled up his underwear and trousers and looked around to see where the boys were. It was usual practice, after a boy had been thrashed, to shake the hand of the person who'd administered the punishment. However, on this occasion, by the time he'd gotten dressed, all three boys had left the gym. Nigel thought, as he sobbed, they must have realised they'd gone too far this time.

He could barely walk but managed to get back to his dormitory, where he led across his bed on his stomach. He began thinking about running away from school, although he knew he couldn't in his present condition!

After about half an hour he plucked up the courage to visit the nurse as the pain was just unbearable. He limped along the long corridor to the nurses' office and asked for some pain relief. Nurse Lester, who was on duty that day, asked "where are you having pain young man?" He didn't want to tell her, he was too embarrassed. "Nigel I need to know so that I can treat you correctly, now where's the pain?" she asked again.

"My backside, I was given the cane" he said looking down at the floor and blushing.

"Oh dear, never mind, go and lie on the bed over there and let me have a look" she said, thinking she'd had to help lots of naughty little boys like this before.

"Do I have to; couldn't you just give me something, please?" he said with a pleading look on his face.

"No, sorry Nigel, I'll need to examine you before I give you anything" she said.

He went over to the bed, carefully took off his trousers and gently led down on his front. "Just lift your tummy off the bed a bit Nigel, I need to pull down your underwear" she said. He did as he was told but as she attempted to remove his underwear he yelped and she noticed the material was stuck to his skin. On closer inspection she saw, to her horror, his behind had been bleeding so badly his underwear was stuck to the congealed blood! She very gently removed his underwear, realising her patient was in terrible pain and had started to cry, and on seeing the extent of his injuries she was stunned, and thought , I've never seen such a brutally beaten child before.

"Nigel, what did you do to deserve such a severe caning?" she asked.

"I was late for class again" he replied.

"But you must have done something more than be late! Were you fighting, using bad language or did you steal something? You simply don't get a beating like that for being late!" she said, thinking my goodness, he looks so innocent too!

"I've been late quite often, so I was caned severely" he said, thinking what animals they were, but because of the "no telling tales code" Nigel wouldn't reveal anything about who'd thrashed him, even though he was angry about it.

Nurse Lester didn't believe him, although she couldn't help but feel sorry for him. It occurred to her for a moment that she should, perhaps, mention the harshness of this beating to Mrs Bixby but then realised she could get fired if she made accusations against the school!

After she'd gently cleaned the blood off Nigel's painful looking behind, gave him some aspirin and a sleeping pill, to help him get through the night, she advised he should stay in bed for a couple of days and then come back to see her. Realising his teacher would notice his absence she explained to Mrs Bixby and Mr Drake that Nigel was unwell and needed bed rest.

She wrote down in the record book what Nigel had told her, the medication she'd given him and the date of the incident. She still felt slightly guilty about not reporting the matter to the headmistress, but she simply couldn't risk losing her job.

Nigel stayed in bed, resting on his tummy, for two days and then went back to see the nurse, who considered he was healing quite well. Trying hard to look stern, she turned to Nigel and said "well young man, I hope whatever you did was worth it, because your backside is going to be badly scarred for the rest of your life!!" He was horrified, imagining how embarrassed he'd be in the communal showers with all the wise cracks he'd have to endure from the other boys!

He began to realise that he wouldn't be able to take another caning, no matter how few strokes, for a long time, and was terrified he might be picked on by a prefect who'd had a bad day. On returning to class, for the first time after the beating, it was torture for him to sit down, but he had to sit still for fear of angering his teacher who might send him to be punished again.

In over two and a half years at boarding school Nigel hadn't told Preston anything about the thrashings he'd received, and still hadn't told him about Clive Green assaulting him. However, having now received such a vicious beating he knew he had no choice but to speak up.

About ten days after the beating he went home for the weekend and was very nervous about the reaction he'd get to his account of what happened to him. He planned out in his mind what he'd tell Preston and was now about to see if he could go through with it. He had a shower, put on a clean pair of underwear and his dressing gown. Taking a deep breath he went downstairs to the drawing room, where Preston was sitting at his desk.

"Preston" he said very timidly "please can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Oh what is it now Podge, I'm busy" he said, looking very cross.

"Preston I have to tell you something" Nigel said with his heart almost in his mouth.

"Spit it out Podge, as I said, I'm busy!" he snapped.

Nigel jumped and said "I, I, I was beat ... beaten really, really bad... badly at school, I was bleeding, help me Preston, take me away from that school please, I beg you, I can't take any more beatings!!" He started crying quite bitterly and looked at his brother, hoping to get a sympathetic response.

"Podge! For goodness sake! Not that again! Do you want another beating from me? You'll get one if you keep on with that nonsense! I told you if you get punished at school, you'll get punished here too!"

"It's not nonsense" he said moving behind an armchair in case Preston tried to get hold of him. "It's not...not just the beatings; I was.... was a .... assaulted by a teach.... teacher a couple of years ago too. Cli ... Clive Green tried to ki .... kiss me and touched my backside; he said he'd kill you and na ... nana if I told anyone" Nigel said, sobbing pitifully and giving his brother a pleading look, desperately trying to get him to listen and believe him.

Preston went red with anger; stood up and shouted "For heaven's sake Podge! That has to be the most farfetched excuse you've used to date! I know that nobody touched you and you know it too! You must have been very naughty though if you got caned and you must have deserved every caning you got! I know I did. Dad punished me too, but he never ever smacked you, you're a spoilt little brat! As for Clive Green, he's a well respected teacher; you're a wicked boy for trying to harm his reputation with your lies. When he was your teacher he called me several times to discuss you as he was concerned that you had no friends and wondered what he could do to make you happy! Now get to bed!!"

To Preston's astonishment Nigel didn't immediately race out of the room, instead he cried "please listen to me, please!" Preston stared at Nigel for a second noticing that he was shaking and looked quite pitiful. Nigel tried really hard to be brave and gingerly came around to the front of the armchair, nervously taking off his dressing gown and turning slightly sideways. Keeping far enough away, so that Preston couldn't grab him, he lifted up one side of his underwear; revealing the back of his thigh, which still had a cane mark on it. Preston took a quick look and said "I don't believe that's a cane mark and even if it is, it doesn't look that bad! Now bed!!" This time Nigel grabbed hold of his dressing gown and ran out of the room crying like a little boy, he so desperately wanted to leave that school but knew he'd be sent back. Preston chased after him and shouted up the stairs "don't bother coming back down for dinner, you're not getting any, you ungrateful little liar!"

It was a shame Louisa wasn't there as she'd never have allowed him to go without food, as he was far too thin. It was, however, part of Nigel's plan to wait until she'd gone out before telling Preston what happened, not ever wanting his nana to know anything about it.

He didn't sleep at all that night, he was terrified his big brother was going to come in and punish him. However, what he didn't know was that Preston was downstairs getting drunk, trying to forget about the things Nigel had said; and wondering if there was any truth in it. In the end, after several glasses of whiskey, he decided it was utter rubbish.

As Nigel lay in his bed he thought how horrible Preston was being, especially since he'd now graduated from Cambridge and was working at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. He was home every evening and he could have easily looked after him with just a small amount of help from Nanny Wright. Nigel felt that his brother simply didn't want him around, believing he must still blame him for their parent's death, as he could think of no other reason Preston would be so cruel to him.

Of course Nigel had no idea that the real reason Preston didn't want him around was that he'd now started having wild parties at the house, every weekend, where he'd not only invite his regular "ladies" but also some other very unsavoury characters! He knew he couldn't allow Nigel, even at age fifteen, to be exposed to such people and never mentioned anything to Louisa about the "social gatherings". She only ever came to the house at weekends if Nigel was home from school, as Preston had persuaded her to socialise more with her many friends. Preston always hired outside help to do the catering and cleaning immediately after these parties, thinking Louisa would never find out about them. Of course, she did, as the neighbours told her! However, Preston was now over twenty one so she had no say in what he did, unless he asked for her opinion. Realising Preston would be very embarrassed that she knew what he got up to; she decided not to mention it, although she often dropped hints about the dangers of young people not wearing condoms!!

* * *

The deputy headmaster at the Cavendish Academy, Jacob Irons, really detested Mrs Bixby, but loved it when she left him in charge of the school. He didn't approve of her use of prefects to punish the boys, although he had absolutely no idea how bad that situation was with regard to some youngsters, particularly Nigel.

Mr Irons had been told, many times, by several of the teachers, how brilliant Nigel Bailey was. He too was astonished by his intellect and believed his young student deserved to have the opportunity to go to university as soon as possible. With this in mind he took some of Nigel's work to show his friend, Professor George Bally, who had high connections at Oxford University. George was absolutely astounded when he was told that a fifteen year old had produced the work and asked Jacob to arrange for Nigel to sit the entrance exam for Oxford immediately!

Mr Irons called Nigel into his office, which was only four days after Nigel had revealed to Preston those terrible things. He explained to his young student what he'd done and told him that Professor Bally thought he was exceptionally gifted, extremely well educated and ready to go to Oxford University! Nigel was dumbfounded!

"I'm only just fifteen Sir; would they really accept me at Oxford?" He looked at the deputy headmaster with a big smile on his young face.

"They most certainly would! You'll have to sit the entrance exam, but that's just a formality, so do you want to go to Oxford or not!?" he said, laughing because he knew the answer!

"Oh yes Sir" he replied, not just because it was such an honour to be asked, and he really wanted to go; but because it would get him away from this school!

"Well then young man, I think we'd better get your parents here so we can arrange for you to sit the exam. Then when you pass, which you most certainly will, they can arrange everything else!" he said with a very happy expression on his face.

Nigel's heart sank! He gave Mr Irons a very concerned look, realising he didn't know that his parents were deceased! He sat there for a second and then said "my mother and father have passed on Sir, when I was twelve; I hope that won't mean I can't go! My brother's in charge of me now and he's very strict; he might make me stay here a bit longer Sir. I hope you can convince him to let me go, I really want to!"

"Oh Nigel, I'm so sorry to hear that, what a terrible shame your parents didn't live to see how brilliant you are. I must have your telephone number here somewhere." He shuffled through the papers on his desk, feeling very embarrassed that he didn't know his student was an orphan and not thinking to ask Nigel for his number. "I'll ring your brother now and see what he says; what's his name and how old is he?"

"His name's Preston and he's twenty two Sir" Nigel said, thinking, I bet he'll make it difficult for me.

He rang Nigel's home and left a message with the cleaner that Preston was needed at the school, omitting to say why, only that it was important. Preston immediately thought Nigel had been misbehaving, so he'd get expelled! This thought went round and round in his head, as he'd never been summoned to the Academy before. He thought how difficult it was going to be to get "the brat" into another boarding school; he had Nigel guilty of all sorts, even before he knew the facts. I'll be absolutely furious if they expel him, he thought; he won't be able to sit down for a month!!

Preston took the next day off work so he could attend the school and Nigel was called out of class. Before Nigel got to Mr Iron's office Preston asked, "What's this all about, has my little brother been misbehaving? If he has, don't worry, I'll punish him thoroughly, you won't have to expel him, he won't ever misbehave again when I get through with him!"

"It's nothing like that Mr Bailey, in fact it's just the opposite!" Mr Irons said, with a rather puzzled look on his face, wondering why Preston would think Nigel might have been misbehaving.

At that moment there was a knock on the door and Nigel walked in with a very nervous expression on his face.

"Ah Nigel, come over here and sit by your brother" he said, pointing to the chair next to Preston. "Right, let's take that worried look off your face Mr Bailey, Nigel's not in any trouble whatsoever, he's just been offered the chance to go to Oxford University! So what do you think of that then?!"

Preston was amazed; he looked at Mr Irons with his mouth wide open. "That's, that's wonderful, are you sure!?"

"Of course I'm sure" he said "obviously you'll need to consider the cost, but I'm sure you'll have no problem with that!"

Preston was shocked, his baby brother going to Oxford University, at age fifteen! He was so jealous, he'd wanted to go to Oxford, but he failed the entrance exam and only got into Cambridge by the skin of his teeth, having studied extra hard! "Where do I sign" he said, knowing he couldn't find a reason to prevent Nigel from going to one of the world's most prestigious universities.

Although Preston was jealous, he realised that Nigel would still be living away from home and he'd still have the house to himself at lot, so there was a bright side!

**PLEASE REVIEW I WOULD APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU.**

**In the next chapter you will find out what Nigel did at Oxford, about his meeting with Amanda and the horrible thing that Preston did to make him leave home**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

**Oxford**

Preston drove his brother to Oxford a couple of weeks after he'd passed the entrance exam and Nigel was overjoyed at being given this wonderful opportunity, and was so relieved to be free of that horrible school! Preston put his jealousy aside and helped him move into Professor and Mrs Bally's house, where he was going to live while he studied. The Ballys' loved children, although they'd never been blessed with any, so when Jacob Irons asked if they'd look after Nigel, they jumped at the chance. Nigel was not a streetwise boy, having led a very secluded life, and both Louisa and Preston feared, before the Ballys' agreed to take care of him, that the other students would corrupt him if he lived on campus.

Nigel had never been to a co-ed school before and had absolutely no idea how to act around girls. Louisa realised that Nigel, being so good looking, would soon start to attract female attention and was so relieved to hear that the Ballys' were devout Christians who would teach Nigel good moral values. She remembered what Preston was like at fifteen - girl mad, although girls didn't like him much, and secretly drinking and smoking; until his father smelt alcohol and tobacco on his breath and put a stop to that!

Louisa and Alice Bally almost immediately became friends and arranged to meet up once a month, in London, when Alice visited her niece.

George and Alice were extremely wealthy people who became like new parents to Nigel, which after the dreadful time he'd had at boarding school, was wonderful; making him feel loved and secure again. They told him that he should call them Uncle George and Aunty Alice, and that made him feel so special.

Because he was only fifteen they were quite strict with him, he had to be home by 10.00 p.m. and in bed by 11.00 p.m. which meant he wouldn't be able to attend any wild parties with the older students. Nigel didn't mind as he was so shy, he wouldn't have enjoyed them anyway.

Once he'd gone to bed the Ballys' listened out for him, as he often had bad dreams. When he first arrived every time he cried out they'd rush to his room where they'd, at times, find him sweating and panting, like he'd run a mile in a minute, but he'd never tell them the truth about his dreams. He'd sometimes say he didn't remember, or a monster was chasing him, just so they wouldn't fuss so much. They were quite anxious about it early on, and wondered if they should call a doctor, but Nigel explained he'd had them for years and they should ignore it. Sometimes they just couldn't, as they'd hear him crying "mummy!" and/or "daddy!" which deeply upset Alice, who'd dash to his room and stroke his head until he fell into a more peaceful sleep. After a while they decided the reason for his nightmares must be that he missed his parents so much and they left him; unless he sounded extra distressed.

As George and Alice were both Christians they firmly believed that couples should not have sex before marriage. Realising that Nigel would soon want a girlfriend they felt the need to protect him from the usual boy/girl situations that the "younger generation" seemed to get themselves into; being, in their minds, so promiscuous. They explained their religious beliefs to him and then went on to say that having sex too young could be psychologically damaging and that he'd get his heart broken if he slept with a girl and was not emotionally ready deal with the consequences. Nigel listened and thought; chance would be a fine thing! They went on to say that before he asks a girl out he should bring her home, as a friend, and they'd talk to her to ensure she was morally acceptable, and if she was, they'd allow him to take her out! Nigel was rather surprised at this but, not knowing any better, agreed, although he didn't remember Preston ever asking his parents' permission to go out with a girl! All he knew was that this wonderful couple truly cared about him and it felt so good.

Nigel was painfully shy around the other students but he did make friends with a couple of girls; Melissa and Caroline. They were both extremely intelligent and very pretty, but they thought of him as an adorable boy, which at that time was exactly what he was. He didn't want to be thought of like that, but even though he was fifteen, he was really tiny and physically looked much younger.

Nigel may have been small, but he was exceptionally good looking and he not only attracted the attention of several female students who, at this stage, just wanted to mother him, but also a couple of gay men! He recalled Preston calling him a poof a few years back although, at that time, he had no idea what it meant; until he looked it up in the dictionary. He realised then it was a derogatory term, which he didn't like; preferring to use the word gay. He was very unsure how to handle this situation and didn't want to offend the men, so the next time they pestered him he said, very politely "please leave me alone, I'm not gay, although I have nothing against you personally, it just that I'm actually heterosexual!" The two young men were rather surprised by the adult way he handled the situation and left him alone after that, thinking he was just a bit too posh for them!!

Nigel was really attracted to Melissa and Caroline but he couldn't do anything about it because he was fifteen and they were twenty! He believed they thought of him like a little brother, but he still enjoyed studying with them and being around females for a change.

One day Melissa and Caroline told Nigel they were going on a march to protest against the practices of a pharmesuitical company called Chabot. They explained that Chabot were carrying out some cruel and completely unnecessary experiments on animals as, financially, they were cheaper than other tests. Because he thought the company were wrong to do that, and so he could impress the two girls, Nigel asked if he could join the march. The girls, thinking the more protesters the better, made up another extra protest sign for him, which he found really awkward to carry. They all marched off to the centre of Oxford shouting "Down with Chabot!" "Close down Chabot!" etc and Nigel joined in. Unfortunately there was a scuffle with the police and he got pushed into the crowds who'd gathered to watch the march. He fell to the floor and was almost trampled on by a horse being ridden by a policeman! Lucky for him another policeman spotted him, just in time, and picked him up, tossed him over his shoulder and carried him to his car. Realising Nigel was upset and rather disorientated; he drove him to the hospital where he was immediately examined. Luckily, he wasn't badly hurt, he just had a couple of bruises and was a bit shaken; bearing in mind he could have been killed! Having come so close to a horse he had an allergic reaction, however, one of the nurses brought him some antihistamines, which helped.

Aunty Alice and Uncle George both rushed to the hospital and he explained to them what happened. They were proud of him for protesting against what he believed to be wrong, but they were very cross that he hadn't told either of them what he was up to. Uncle George grounded him for a week and he apologised for scaring them both and said "you won't tell Preston about this Uncle George, will you?" giving him a pleading look.

"Not this time son" George said, "It'll be our secret, but please, Nigel, don't do anything like that again without discussing it with me first, will you?"

"No Sir, I certainly won't!" Nigel said, thinking he must have been crazy in the first place to have gone on with the protest when he saw such a large crowd of people. He'd always hated crowds and felt quite lucky to be alive!

**Age 16**

One evening, when Nigel had been at Oxford for about nine months, he was studying in his bedroom when Alice popped in to ask if he'd help her move some boxes. He snapped at her saying "I'm too busy! I have to finish this before tomorrow's class, can't you get someone else to help!" He was immediately sorry and didn't know why he'd been so rude. She left without saying a word but Nigel saw the hurt on her face and felt just awful. About a minute later George came up to see him and asked why he'd shouted at Aunty Alice.

"I'm so sorry Sir, I don't know what came over me; she asked for my help and I snapped at her. I know I shouldn't have done that! I guess I deserve to be thrashed" Nigel said, looking so sad and remorseful.

"Nigel I don't want to punish you, I just want to know what's wrong, you're never rude, so something's wrong, what is it?"

"I'm just feeling extra tired Sir; I didn't mean to take it out on Aunty Alice, I want to apologise to her. Please would you call her up here, she probably thinks I've become such a brat; I wouldn't be able to sit down for a week if I'd spoken to an adult like that at home!" he said, feeling really ashamed of himself. George called to his wife and as soon as she came through his door Nigel ran over to her and burst into tears! He threw his arms around her and said "I'm so sorry I was rude Aunty Alice; please forgive me, I won't do it again, I promise."

She hugged him back and said "oh Nigel that's alright sweetheart, don't cry, are you feeling OK?" She looked at his face and said "you don't actually look too well; I'm sorry I didn't notice that when I came in here before, are you in pain?"

George interrupted and said to his wife "darling, Nigel's just feeling tired; he's probably been overdoing the studying, but now you mention it, he doesn't look that well. He looked closer at Nigel and said "I think you need an early night, you're obviously exhausted."

"Thank you Sir, but I can't, I have to finish my work, it's due tomorrow; it's just taking me longer than normal because my head is throbbing. I just seem to be getting so many headaches these days" Nigel said, without even considering that that could be the reason he looked so ill and had snapped at Aunty Alice.

"What! You've been having headaches!? Why on earth didn't you tell us, son?" Uncle George asked with concern. "You should have asked Aunty Alice or me to take you to the doctors."

"Oh, I'm sure it's nothing" Nigel said, not wanting to make a fuss or go to the doctors.

"Nothing! You look worn out! You'll go to the doctors tomorrow young man, am I being clear?!" he said sternly, yet with a look of concern on his face.

"Yes Sir" Nigel said, jumping with surprise at George's loud voice.

Alice took him to her own doctor the next day; who examined him and asked "is there enough light where you study Nigel?"

"Yes the lighting's fine Sir" he said shyly.

"When did the headaches start lad?" the doctor asked.

"About three weeks ago Sir, I've had one almost every evening since then" he replied.

"Right young man, I want to give you a thorough examination, can you firstly step onto the scales please." Nigel got on the scales; the doctor checked the dial, shook his head and asked "how old are you?"

"I've just turned sixteen Sir" he said looking very worried.

"Sixteen! Good heavens, I think you need to eat more! I'm going to take some blood and get that checked; you're probably suffering from some sort of vitamin deficiency, which is causing fatigue and irritability; although it could be you're overdoing the studying or need spectacles. Now, when did you last have an eye test?" the concerned doctor asked.

"I haven't had an eye test for about four years Sir, but I can see for miles, it can't be that I need spectacles, can it?" he said, thinking I hope not!

"Well Nigel you might need spectacles to read, you read such a lot, so that could be the problem. I'm going to request an appointment for you to see an optician." He did a few more tests and then called Alice in to see him.

"Mrs Bally" he said, "I want to see Nigel back here in a week and please can you make sure that he's eating properly. He absolutely must eat three meals a day and he's not to miss breakfast! You know Mrs Bally; he's rather underweight for his height; even though he's short for his age. He'll grow though, once he starts eating properly and stops missing meals just so he can finish a book! Now I want you to give him aspirin when he gets a headache and hopefully, by next week, I'll know what the problem is. I'm pretty well convinced it's nothing serious, as I've thoroughly examined him and found nothing wrong. We'll have to wait and see what comes back in the blood tests, although I suspect he's just a little anaemic, so don't worry."

The Ballys' watched Nigel like a hawk that week, ensuring he ate properly and didn't miss any meals. They had to pull books off him occasionally but Nigel found he felt better eating regularly.

He went to the opticians and the doctor was right, he needed reading glasses.

"Go and choose a frame Nigel" the pretty young optician said.

"Do I really have to wear them?" he asked, feeling really down about the whole thing.

"Yes you do, but only for reading or when you use the computer, you won't be able to walk around with them on, they're not designed for that" she said.

"That's going to drive me mad putting my spectacles on and off all the time" he said, feeling a bit upset. "I'm always getting up and down to get various books in connection with my studies."

"Well what you could do is have a pair that you wear near the end of your nose, then you can keep them on and look over the top of the frame as you walk around, you should have no problem then, lots of people do that." she said.

"That's a good idea; can you help me choose a suitable pair please?" Nigel asked, remembering seeing some students with spectacles like that. She showed him some attractive frames and thought, gosh, as she manipulated the chosen pair to fit perfectly over his nose; he's gorgeous!

Nigel went back to the doctors the following week and was told that he was fine apart from being a little anaemic and that if he doesn't eat properly he won't grow! Luckily, after about a week of wearing his spectacles his headaches almost entirely went away and he only got one occasionally; when he was extra tired.

Over the next few months Nigel felt so much better and found he could study for much longer periods of time. He was learning so much and his professors were absolutely astonished by his achievements. It wasn't just the studying that improved, he actually started to grow and by the time he was seventeen he'd grown to five feet five inches tall, which although is not a great height, compared to what he was just a few months before; it was amazing and made him feel very happy. Nigel felt he would be more accepted as a young adult now instead of a child.

**Age 17½**

Nigel really excelled at Oxford, once his sight and eating habits had been sorted out and by the time he was seventeen and a half he'd already got two degrees and was well on the way to his third. He was so lucky being at Oxford because most of the lectures he needed to attend were given several times so he was able to do more than one degree at the same time.

Nigel had written two papers on Henry VIII and was in the middle of his third, as this was something he really enjoyed. He'd studied several modern languages and six ancient ones, some of which he could speak almost fluently. He intended to learn more ancient languages during his next year at Oxford, as languages came easy to him; as did the learning of Egyptian Hieroglyphics and other forms of ancient writing. He studied ancient architecture too, mostly to do with the pyramids, not just Egyptian but Mayan and Aztec as well. He was fascinated by the Mayan and Aztec civilisations and had now decided that he didn't just want to go to Egypt but also to Mexico and Peru and anywhere else that had really ancient buildings.

The list of things that Nigel studied was endless and included geography, geology and biology as his brain was so amazing. His professors considered that he must have a photographic memory to be able to instantly recall things that were really obscure, or perhaps had only been vaguely discussed in class. He eventually told them they were correct but refused to discuss his "gift" in any detail as he also considered it a curse as, try as he might, he couldn't forget some of the horrible things from his past!

**Age 18**

At age of eighteen Nigel found his first real girlfriend, a pretty blond haired girl, called Amanda. She was also studying at Oxford and was twenty two years old; she was very bright and didn't seem to mind that Nigel was younger than her.

The first time he met her was at a cafe, not far from where he lived with the Ballys'. The cafe was always very busy as it was close to the university and attracted a lot of students, including Nigel, as it was a nice place to meet socially and read. On this particular day there was only one seat left and that was at Amanda's table. She was sitting with her "boyfriend" and Nigel plucked up the courage to ask if they would mind him sitting with them. Amanda replied "that's fine" immediately recognising him as the young genius who was astounding all of the professors. She'd heard a lot about him, including the fact that he was a very wealthy young man, although he didn't look it. She thought he was very handsome, quite small and looked rather innocent. She and her friend started whispering and laughing and kept looking at Nigel who began to feel quite self-conscious as he drank his tea. He was just about to leave when Amanda suddenly said to him "am I right in thinking you're Nigel Bailey, the boy genius?"

"Um, my name is Nigel Bailey, yes"

"Hello Nigel, my name is Amanda Reardon and this is my friend Anthony Kenwallada. They both held out their hands to shake Nigel's and Anthony said "all my friends call me Tony, Amanda and I are both students at Oxford and we were wondering if you would like to join us at the Kings Head, they're having a pub quiz in about half an hour, and I bet you'd be brilliant on our team."

"Are you old enough to go in a pub to drink?" Amanda asked him.

"I've just turned eighteen so, yes I am" he said, thinking a pub quiz would be fun.

"So, would you like to come with us Nigel? I'm sure you'll enjoy a beer and a game of darts too" Tony said. Nigel was rather surprised that Tony had asked him to join them, as he'd assumed that he and Amanda were dating as they seemed so close at the cafe. However, he considered that this would be an ideal opportunity to be with some older students, in an adult situation.

"Yes please, I think a pub quiz would be great fun to take part in, I've never been on a pub quiz team before!" he said, following them out of the cafe.

When they entered the pub the barman immediately asked Nigel if he was eighteen and he confirmed that he was. The barman, fearful of losing his licence, then said "you won't be able to stay in here unless you have some identification on you", which prompted Nigel to take out his student identity card. The barman looked at it and saw his photograph and date of birth, but he wasn't convinced the card was genuine as Nigel didn't look more than fifteen and there were plenty of fake identity cards around. Tony, on noticing Nigel's predicament, came over to rescue him and explained to the barman who Nigel was and then added "he just looks like a baby!" Tony and the barman laughed at Nigel, who was by now blushing from head to toe!

"What would you like to drink Nigel?" Tony asked.

"Um, an orange juice would be fine thanks" he said shyly.

"Are you sure you wouldn't like something stronger? How about a beer?" Tony asked, thinking he's such a kid.

"No thanks, just an orange juice please" Nigel said, thinking if I drink beer and it makes me drunk I'll get into so much trouble with Uncle George and Aunty Alice. Tony didn't push the matter and they, of course, won the quiz by miles, Nigel knowing the answers to almost everything.

Tony taught Nigel how to play darts, something he'd never played before and although he wasn't very good, he tried really hard. Tony took great pleasure in showing off, having won the game against a genius, although Nigel didn't care at all and thought Tony reminded him of Preston! After they'd finished the game Nigel went back to their table and Amanda asked him out on a date! She could tell that he liked her by the way he acted and she also realised he was far too shy to ask her out. She explained "I'm not going out with Tony, we're just friends, he's doing a business studies degree at Oxford and has already become quite successful and made lots of money; I've known him for years." Nigel wasn't really that interested in Tony, he was only interested in Amanda!

Nigel remembered what his guardians had said about dating so he thought he'd better take Amanda home to meet them. While he was making some tea, the Ballys' talked to her, and after a few minutes of general chit chat they asked "do you believe in sex before marriage?" She was flabbergasted but immediately realised why they were asking and said "I certainly don't, I'm still a virgin and I hope Nigel is too." The Ballys' confirmed he was and they were very pleased with her response, thinking she would be suitable for young Nigel, although they could tell she was a bit older than him. Amanda giggled to herself about how overprotective they were towards him, but she could tell just how much they loved him. She could also see, quite clearly, that Nigel loved them too and made the decision that, to save Nigel any embarrassment, she wouldn't tell him about her discussion with his guardians. Nigel was very pleased when Uncle George told him that he and Alice approved of Amanda and that he had their permission to take her out.

On their third date Amanda, assuming Nigel had lots of money, wanted to have dinner at an expensive restaurant and asked him to take her to "Browns." Nigel took her but he was very worried about how expensive it was. What Amanda didn't realise, and what Nigel was too embarrassed to tell her, was that he lived on an allowance; he had no money to spend on luxuries. Preston, with their lawyer's approval, made sure that he had enough pocket money for the cinema, a few coffees, some sweets and his books but he was not permitted money for luxuries, such as expensive dinners! However, wanting to please Amanda, Nigel used his entire month's allowance to pay for that dinner. She ordered wine and told Nigel not to be such a baby and drink it. She practically forced him to drink a second glass which made him feel quite tipsy. When they'd finished he paid for the dinner and walked Amanda to the university gates, holding her arm all the way so he wouldn't fall. He then made his way home but had an awful problem walking upright!

It was midnight when he got home, an hour past his curfew! Lucky for Nigel, Uncle George had fallen asleep at 10.30 p.m. and didn't know that he was late. Aunty Alice, however, woke up when he came in and noticed the time. She decided she would let it go on this occasion, because it was unusual for him to be late. She did think he should have called though, as the rule was if he was going to be late, he would ring and let them know, so they wouldn't worry.

The following day Amanda put a note through the door of the Bally's house asking Nigel to meet her in the pub at 7.30 p.m. He'd previously told her he had lot of work to catch up on, having gone out so much in the last few days. However, he thought it would be alright just to take a few minutes to see what she wanted and arrived at the pub right on time. He walked in and saw Amanda talking to Tony, who immediately asked him what he wanted to drink. Nigel replied "I haven't got any money, so I won't have a drink, I have to study in a little while; I only actually came to see what Amanda wanted."

"Don't be silly Nigel, I'll still buy you a drink what will you have?" Tony said, not believing for one minute that Nigel was broke.

"Oh OK then, if you're sure, I'll have a quick orange juice please, as I said, I have to study and alcohol will make me sleepy" he said, thinking how awful he felt last night and what a nasty headache he woke up with that morning. He sat down next to Amanda and she gently kissed him and said, "last night was fantastic but I'm really hoping we can go to that nightclub on Drake Street tonight, I know you said you have to study, but surely you can do that tomorrow, can't you?"

"I'm sorry Amanda but I really can't, the assignments are due tomorrow morning by 11.00 a.m. so I won't have time to do them in the morning" he said with a worried look on his face, hoping she would understand.

"Alright Pooh Bear; let's just enjoy ourselves here for a bit longer then" she said, looking towards Tony as he came back to the table with their drinks, putting Nigel's on a coaster in front of him.

"Thanks Tony, I'll buy you one when I get some more money" he said, picking up his glass as Tony said "last one to finish their drink buys the next round!"

Nigel obviously had no money, so he thought he'd better drink his really fast and drank the entire contents in about five gulps! "That tasted really funny" he said, as he put the glass down, thinking the pub must have changed their brand of orange juice. Tony and Amanda both finished their drinks about two seconds later but Tony said "Oh don't worry Amanda, I'll get the next round in, even if it was a tie!"

Tony then whispered something in her ear and laughed, which prompted her to give him a dirty look and shake her head, like she was saying no, but she didn't actually say a word. Nigel thought Tony was very rude to keep whispering, but didn't say anything. They all sat down and chatted for a few minutes and then Tony went back to the bar and bought another round of drinks. When Nigel had finished that he needed to go to the loo but as he stood up he almost fell over! "What was in those juices Tony?" Nigel asked, slightly slurring his words and falling back down on the chair.

"Oh don't be such a spoil sport Nigel, it was just a bit of Vodka, you seemed to enjoy it!"

"I need to go to the loo, but I can't stand up" he said, so Tony held him under his arms and took him to the toilet, leaving him in a cubicle to do what he had to. Tony waited for a few minutes and when he didn't come out he shouted "are you alright in there Nigel?" He didn't answer so Tony pushed the door open and saw that he'd fallen back onto the toilet and was almost asleep! Luckily he'd zipped his trousers up before falling backwards! Tony picked him up, threw him over his shoulder and carried him back into the bar, where he tossed him into an armchair and said "I guess I'd better take him home, you know where he lives don't you Amanda?"

"Yes I know, but Nigel will be in trouble if you take him home like that" she said, showing concern for her young boyfriend.

"Well I can't just leave him here can I, what's his address?" She wrote it down, handed it to Tony and said "it's only a five minute walk." It was pouring with rain, and Tony carried Nigel over his shoulder all the way back to the Bally's house. He knocked on the door and Alice answered.

"Is this Nigel's house?" Tony asked.

"Yes it is but what's happened to Nigel!? Is he alright!?" she said with alarm.

"Oh he's fine; he just had a little too much to drink, shall I bring him in?" Tony said as the rain dripped off his nose.

"Yes, I suppose you'd better, just go through there and put him on the sofa, thank you for bringing him home" Alice said, pointing to the lounge. Tony left him asleep on the sofa, came back into the hall and said to Alice "I'm Tony, don't go too hard on him Mrs Bailey, you're only young once" and he was out of the front door before Alice could tell him that she wasn't Mrs Bailey!

She went upstairs and told George what a state Nigel was in and that he'd been late the previous night too. He went downstairs to see for himself and saw him lying on the sofa, soaking wet. George was absolutely furious, but also rather surprised too. He gently slapped Nigel's face to try and wake him up and he responded with a giggle. George thought he'd better undress him because he'd catch pneumonia if he slept in wet clothes. Suddenly the light bulb blew so he had to undress him in the dark, as he'd no idea where the spare bulbs were kept. He turned Nigel on his side, in case he was sick, covered him with a rug; which they always kept on the back of the sofa and went to bed thinking, I hope this isn't the start of some sort of teenage rebellion, he's been such a good boy until now!

The following morning Nigel woke up with a splitting headache and was shocked to find he was in the lounge, underneath a blanket, completely naked! He tried to think what had happened and suddenly remembered what Tony had done. He had no idea how he got home but was dreading having to explain himself to his guardians.

About ten minutes later George and Alice both walked into the lounge and looked at him very sternly. He pulled the blanket up to his neck and stared at them with a very worried look on his face. George was still quite angry and said in a very annoyed tone "well young man, what have you got to say for yourself!?"

"I .. I… I'm sorry Sir, I should … shouldn't have gone to .. to the pub I .." George interrupted him.

"When did you start going to public houses Nigel? And what do you think you're playing at being carried home in such a state!? You've only just turned eighteen and you're already drinking and staying out until all hours! I ought to thrash your backside here and now!!"

Nigel blushed bright red and said "I'm sorry Sir, I won't do it again, I promise!" He pulled the blanket even tighter around his neck realising that if Uncle George does punish him right now, he's naked!!

"Too right you won't do it again! I'm going to call Louisa and Preston and tell them what you did! They have a right to know if you're misbehaving" George said "and don't think I don't know you were late in last night too! I won't tan your hide but I'll think of a suitable punishment, then I'll speak to Louisa and Preston and see what they have to say about it."

"Please, please Sir, don't tell Preston and nana, my brother will thrash me for sure and nana will be so disappointed in me, I couldn't face that. I'm really sorry, please believe me Sir, I really am sorry" Nigel had tears in his eyes and he was shaking. Alice walked over to the sofa and looked him in the eye and said "don't you care about us then? How disappointed we are? Do you just care about how disappointed and angry your nanny and brother will be with you?"

"Oh no Aunty Alice, of course not, I love you both dearly, you've made me feel happy again for the first time since my mum and dad died. I'm so sorry I disappointed you. I know I'm a terrible person putting you through this but I didn't mean to; I swear I didn't know there was alcohol in my juice or I wouldn't have drank it!"

"What do you mean by that Nigel!?" Alice said with alarm "what happened?"

"Someone put alcohol in my juice without me knowing about it, but if I hadn't gone to the pub in the first place that would never have happened; I know I should have been home studying" Nigel said feeling really sorry for himself.

"Do you know who did it Nigel?" Alice asked, hoping that he did.

"I suppose I do but I'd rather not say" he looked her in the eye and said "please don't make me tell you, I won't let him do it again."

George and Alice both thought hard about what he'd said; if it was true, that person could repeat the trick. They conveyed this thought to Nigel who said "I don't think he'll do it again and I don't think he did it maliciously, he just wanted me to enjoy myself. I'm not going to drink again for a very long time, I promise."

Just then there was a knock at the door; it was Amanda who asked Alice if Nigel was alright.

"Yes he's alright now but he was in a terrible state last night. Do you know what happened to him? He's never come home like that before!" Alice said.

"Didn't Nigel explain Mrs Bally?" Amanda asked, rather surprised that Nigel hadn't told her what Tony had done.

"Explain what?" she said, hoping Amanda would tell her the truth.

"That our friend Tony put Vodka in his orange juice. Tony's such an idiot at times, I was so annoyed with him when he told me what he'd done, but it was too late then. Is Nigel up yet?" she asked with concern.

"Yes he is; he slept on the sofa last night because he was practically unconscious when that Tony brought him home! I'll tell him you're here." Mrs Bally went into the lounge and told Nigel he had a visitor. He was so embarrassed as he was still completely naked underneath the blanket and was mortified at the thought that Uncle George had undressed him; at least he hoped it was just Uncle George!

Amanda came into the lounge, kissed him and asked if he was alright. He replied "my head's throbbing, I feel sick and, oh God, I never got my work done! I've never been late with a paper before, Uncle George will be really cross. He hasn't told me what my punishment is for coming home drunk yet! God only knows what he'll say or do to me when he hears my work's late!"

After about ten minutes Professor Bally came into the lounge and asked Amanda to leave so that he could talk to Nigel. She kissed her sad looking boyfriend on the cheek and said "see you later Pooh Bear."

George looked at Nigel, gave him a glass of water and two aspirins and said "right young man, do you have anything else to say before I tell you what I've decided to do about your behaviour?"

"No Sir, except that I really am sorry, and I suppose I'd better tell you before you find out, I didn't get a chance to finish the papers I'm supposed to hand in today. I know it's my fault Sir, I shouldn't have gone to the pub." Nigel had tears in his eyes knowing how disappointed and unhappy his guardians were with him. George knelt down beside the sofa and put his arms around Nigel and said "Look son, we all make mistakes, but you have to be punished for this. Do you promise you'll never trust Tony again, particularly where alcohol is concerned!?"

"Tony? How do you know it was Tony Sir!?" Nigel asked, rather surprised.

"Amanda told Aunty Alice" he said, thinking, he's so naive, he needs to have proper friends who will look after him, not men like that Tony!

"Oh" Nigel said, thinking he was glad really, he didn't like telling tales as it had been ingrained into him not to do that, but he didn't like keeping things from his guardians either and said "Sir I promise I won't allow Tony do anything like that again."

"All right Nigel; you are grounded for a month, no television, no cafe, no going out at all, except to class. You may read outside during your lunch break though, so that you get some fresh air. Furthermore, you will complete those assignments today and hand them in tomorrow. You can call your professors and explain you were ill last night and you need an extension until tomorrow. I'm sorry but I'm still going to have to tell Louisa and Preston about this, but don't worry, I'll tell them you've already been punished so your brother won't think he needs to discipline you. Do you understand that you are a guest in our house and as much as Aunty Alice and I love you, you must abide by our rules?"

"Yes Sir, I understand and I accept my punishment, but Preston will punish me again because those are his rules." Nigel let the tears fall down his cheeks once more realising how disappointed his guardians were with him, and because Preston was going to be told what he'd done.

George handed him a tissue and said "Nigel, don't cry son, Aunty Alice and I believe you didn't deliberately get drunk, and we'll make sure Preston knows that too, alright?"

"Yes Sir" Nigel said, still crying a little and hoping that Uncle George was right that Preston wouldn't punish him further, although he truly believed he would!

"Right young man, go and shower then Aunty Alice will bring you up some breakfast. You can arrange an extension for those papers and then get on with your work" George said, pointing to the door. Nigel got up; keeping the blanket around his waist and went up the stairs, feeling very sorry for himself as his head was still throbbing.

George rang Preston and told him what Nigel had done; explaining he was being punished and that he'd apologised. Preston immediately felt angry and said he'd come to Oxford in a couple of days to punish Nigel properly, as he thought Professor Bally was too lenient! George reiterated "Nigel is being punished fairly and I'm not being lenient, I can assure you, it certainly won't be necessary for you to punish him further!"

However, two days later Preston and Louisa arrived at the Bally's home; they'd not called first to say they were coming and George and Alice were surprised when they knocked on their door, although Alice was delighted to see Louisa.

Nigel was upstairs studying when they arrived and Alice called to him saying "Nigel, Preston and Nanny Wright are here, sweetheart." He was immediately on edge about his brother being there but hoped it was just a social call. Nigel was overjoyed his nana was there and immediately threw his arms around her. She hugged him really tightly and said "It's so nice to see you sweetie; I wish we were here under different circumstances though!" Nigel blushed and realised that Preston was here to punish him! He tried to be brave and went over to his big brother to shake hands, and to check Preston's face, to see how angry he was. Preston shook Nigel's hand and then caught hold of his shoulders and pushed him onto the sofa. "So what have you got to say for yourself young man?" Preston said, looking really angry.

"I'm sorry Preston; it won't happen again!" he said, hoping he wouldn't hit him, but thinking; Preston doesn't look as big these days!!

"Podge, Professor Bally told me everything so I want you to promise me you won't go to the pub, or anywhere else where there's alcohol, with that man again! Do you promise!?"

"Yes Preston, I promise" he said looking at the ground.

"No more neglecting your studies either, do you realise just how much it costs to send you to Oxford University? Do you!?" Preston asked, being really serious.

"Yes Preston, I know it's really expensive" he said quietly.

"I suppose you're too grown up to have your backside smacked, so you can go without your allowance for a month, is that understood!?" Preston said.

"Yes Preston" Nigel said, feeling so glad his brother thought he was growing up! Not having any money for a month was no problem, as he couldn't go out anyway! George and Alice didn't approve of Preston punishing Nigel further, but said nothing, not wanting to offend him or cause any problems between the two brothers.

"Now Podge let's have a nice chat about your life at Oxford University now that you're eighteen. It looks like you're getting up to all sorts these days!" Nigel realised that Preston was just putting on a show for the Ballys' and that if they hadn't been in the room, it would have been a very different story for him!

Preston listened to his brother talking about being at university, which sounded nothing like his own experiences when he'd attended Cambridge. He was surprised and a bit jealous, when Nigel revealed he had a girlfriend; Preston had only had two "real" girlfriends himself, even though he was twenty five! He went into fits of laughter when Nigel told him that last week he went to a cocktail bar with Amanda and ordered a Pimm's Cup with cucumber, which he accidentally dropped on the head of a bald man, when he tripped over!! Preston was quite glad to hear that Nigel didn't attend any of the parties on campus, or visit nightclubs, as he genuinely didn't want his little brother being exposed to anything too sordid and was pleased that he still appeared very innocent, realising this would show others how well he'd brought him up!

Nigel still resented Preston for being so strict with him since their parents died, feeling he punished him far too severely, even when he'd done something very minor. It began to cross his mind that if he was bigger and stronger he'd confront him about the past and try to ascertain if he actually did blame him for their parent's death. As it was he was afraid to antagonise Preston, who was quite unpredictable these days, which forced Nigel to continue to lock his feelings inside.

* * *

When Nigel's grounding was over, he bumped into Tony at the cafe and said "you got me into so much trouble; I've been grounded for a month because of what you did!"

"Oh Nigel, you're never going to amount to anything if you let your parents treat you like a baby, you should have stuck up for yourself!" Tony said, sarcastically. Nigel didn't tell him that the Ballys' weren't his parents; he just retaliated by saying "they care about me Tony! You don't care about anyone but yourself! That was a horrible thing you did to me, you know I can't handle alcohol, it was so irresponsible! You don't care who you hurt!" Nigel moved back a little away from Tony in case he hit him, but continued to speak his mind. "I'm not allowed to go to the pub with you again and I certainly don't want to anyway!" Tony looked at him, laughed and said "look Nigel, you're eighteen, you're old enough to make up your own mind who you see; what you do and when you do it! You're going to end up as someone's slave in a dead end job when you leave university, if you don't grow up a bit!" Nigel just walked away thinking about what Tony had said but realised that the Ballys' love him, and would never do anything to hurt him, unlike Tony!

After this initial accidental meeting, he bumped into Tony every now and again and stopped for a chat and a coffee. They eventually became "friends" again, however, Nigel never trusted him, not for one minute, and certainly would never break his promise to Preston and Uncle George in relation to him!

* * *

Nigel took Amanda home with him one weekend to meet Preston and Nanny Wright. They'd barely got through the door when Preston greeted them, introduced himself to Amanda and dragged her off to the garden, leaving Nigel just stood there! He hated the thought of his girlfriend being near his brother, so after about ten minutes he went out to see what they were up to. They were just talking but he called Amanda anyway, saying "hey Pigeon, I want you to meet my nana." Amanda excused herself and went back into the house, following Nigel into the kitchen. "This is Louisa Wright, Pigeon... nanny, this is Amanda" he said with a big smile on his face. They shook hands and Louisa thought what a pretty girl she was and said to her "it's very nice to meet you at last; Nigel's told me all about you, he's obviously very impressed by you!"

Nigel blushed bright red and said "well you are very intelligent Pigeon, aren't you?" Trying to make it seem that that was all he'd mentioned in his letters and telephone calls to his nana.

"Pooh Bear! I'm an absolute moron compared to you!" she said.

"No you're not, you were the star of Professor Dallow's psychology class, and you know it!" he said pulling her towards the door. "Would you like to see my room Pigeon?" he asked, before Louisa embarrassed him further.

"Yes please, I bet it's full of all sorts of old stuff!" Amanda joked.

"Actually, all I have left in my bedroom, from when I was a child, are some toy soldiers and some of my posters (he had his fluffy polar bear with him at Oxford!). I don't know what happened to my other things; probably Preston threw them out when I started university and he had my room repainted." They both went into his bedroom which was quite large and spotlessly clean; but very ordinary. There was a double bed, a sofa, a large wardrobe, a chest of drawers and a desk with a swivel chair. On the desk was a pen pot, with a little Union Jack flag poking out of it. There was also a wooden chair in the corner that Nigel didn't like at all, as that was the chair Preston used when he punished him! His toy soldiers were on some shelves above the sofa and there was a poster of Chichen Itza, a pyramid in Mexico, on one wall and the Pyramids in Egypt on another. The room was beautifully painted in light blue and white.

They sat on the bed and Amanda leaned over to kiss Nigel, who blushed but kissed her back. They'd never slept together, even though they'd been dating for quite a while. Nigel didn't know if Amanda was a virgin, like him, and he was far too shy to ask her. He jumped up off the bed, in case Nanny Wright came in and, thinking very quickly, took Amanda over to the window. He pointed to the end of the garden and said "see that huge oak tree, there's a tree house quite low down in it, my dad built it for me when I was little; mum made him build it like that because it only needed three steps, she didn't want me climbing a ladder. I used to go up there to read when I was three right up until I was about ten, after that I thought I was a bit too old to play in it." He felt a little sad and a lump came into his throat as he recalled his parents discussing the design of his tree house and all the safety issues.

"Pooh Bear! You could read when you were three!?" Amanda said in amazement.

"Actually, I started to read when I was two, nana taught me" he said, in a matter of fact way.

"You're too modest Pooh, anyone else would have bragged about that!"

Nigel and Amanda stayed at the house for the whole weekend, before leaving to go back to Oxford. She visited his home on several more occasions, even staying for a week during one summer but was never very keen on Preston!

They went out together a lot while they studied at Oxford University but they didn't go to posh restaurants anymore as Nigel had confessed that he had to survive on a small allowance. He told Amanda that when he's twenty one he'll get some extra money, but he didn't know how much. He had no idea about the £850,000 that his mother had left him, as he was very young when she died. Louisa and Preston considered he could be taken advantage of if he told anyone about that money; or the family money in general, and could even be kidnapped and held to ransom! All Nigel was told, at the age of twelve, apart from half the house was his; was that he would get a monthly allowance, which would gradually increase as he got older, particularly when he was twenty one. That was more or less it; almost all of the financial details were completely kept from him and, as it turned out, they were quite correct to do that!

When Amanda and Tony initially met Nigel at the cafe and then took him to the Kings Head for the pub quiz, they'd spent part of that evening planning out how they could use him! They thought that they would pay for a few drinks and meals to get friendly with him and then they'd gradually get him to pay for everything! They also planned to "borrow" money from him, which they'd never pay back, as they believed he was very rich and could afford anything he wanted. When Nigel revealed to Amanda that, even though he comes from a wealthy family, he had to live on a small allowance, she was really shocked, and was going to break up with him immediately. However, because she actually liked him, and was not a cruel person, she didn't want him to know she was only after him for his money as she believed he would be devastated! So what she planned to do was, go out with him for a couple more weeks, and then dump him, using some silly excuse, like they've drifted apart or he studies too much. It was only when Amanda got to know him better, during the two weeks following his revelation that he was just a "poor" student, that she knew she didn't want to dump him at all. She'd never met such a sweet and innocent young man and she began to genuinely care about him and really loved his naive qualities. She simply couldn't bring herself to hurt him in any way at that time. It was, however, in the back of her mind that eventually he would have a lot of money, but that wasn't her motivation at this time to stay with him. She tried to make sure Tony didn't hurt him either and he promised he wouldn't. Nigel never knew that Amanda had a "bad" side during their time together at Oxford as she never revealed it to him.

**Age 20**

When Amanda graduated from Oxford, at the age of twenty four, having obtained a degree in psychology, Nigel made the huge decision that he would leave too. He could have gone on for another year or two, but he knew he would miss her too much. It actually worked out that he was able to graduate at the same time as her.

During his five years of studying at Oxford he'd earned five degrees; mostly in connection with ancient civilisations and history. He decided that as he was only twenty he could still go back to university in a year or two, to do his masters, but for now he was ready to try something different.

Once he'd left university he thought he'd move back home and look for a job, thinking this way he could still see Amanda, who was also looking for work in London. He considered that if he couldn't get a job, he could always travel and see some of the places he'd dreamt about; as long as Preston would let him have the money to pay for it! He also hoped that if he did go travelling, Amanda would forget about working and come with him.

Nigel had only been home for about three weeks when he had a telephone call from Professor Bally who said "Nigel, I've just spoken to John Franklin of the British Museum; he wanted to know if I could recommend anyone to replace one of his curators. Apparently one of them is retiring in six weeks and instead of advertising, he decided to call me. I immediately thought of you, as I think you'd be perfect considering the knowledge you possess in that amazing brain of yours." George told Nigel what the job entailed and then said "well son, what do you think!?"

"Oh that would be brilliant Uncle George; it sounds like something I'd really enjoy doing! Do you really think I could do it Sir?" he asked, excitedly.

"Of course l do Nigel, you'll be brilliant" he said. As soon as George put the telephone down he called John Franklin and arranged for Nigel to be interviewed.

On the day Nigel was due to have his interview, he wasn't feeling too well, he was sneezing, his eyes were puffed up and he was having difficulty breathing. If he didn't know better, he'd say there was a horse in the house! His allergy to horse hair was still quite severe and although antihistamine pills helped, they made him feel quite drowsy. He couldn't understand what was causing his symptoms; he hadn't been near any fields or stables and thought it was just his luck that this should happen today of all days! He hoped, however, that the fresh air would stop him feeling so sleepy before he got to the museum.

When he got there he had his interview with Mr Franklin, who was very impressed with him. Unfortunately, during the interview, he sneezed and coughed a lot and his eyes kept watering, making it difficult for him to read some forms that he was required to complete. Having explained the problem to Mr Franklin he hoped he would understand and realise that he was generally in good health. Nigel believed that the only things against him were his age and the fact that he had no actual work experience, although he felt his qualifications should more than make up for that. Mr Franklin explained what his duties would be and advised he'd be working for a man called, Anthony Cureton. As he was leaving the museum he knew he really wanted the position and felt the interview went extremely well, apart from his allergy problem.

When he got home he noticed that Preston was out, so he took the opportunity to telephone Amanda. She already knew about the job at the British Museum because as soon as Nigel knew he'd got an interview, he rang her with the news and excitedly gave her the details.

He told Amanda all about the interview and she was thrilled he'd done so well. He also told her that his allergy was playing up during the interview, but that he felt even worse now he was home! "Oh my poor little Pooh Bear, take some of those antihistamine pills, and have an early night" she said with concern.

"Yes I think I will Pigeon" and sneezed a couple of times.

Amanda had just started a new job in Harley Street and was settling in really well so Nigel said "if I get the job we'll have to celebrate our good luck with a posh meal at the Ritz, I'll get Preston to give me some money to celebrate." He stayed on the telephone talking to Amanda for over an hour, chatting about the job and old times, but he still kept on sneezing. Then, hearing Preston came in through the front door, he said goodbye as he hated it when his brother eve dropped on their conversations.

"Have you been anywhere nice Preston?" Nigel asked, out of politeness.

"Oh nowhere special really" he replied.

"Do you want a cup of tea? I was just about to make one. I've been talking to Amanda for the last hour and my throat's parched. Oh, I've no idea why, but I can't stop sneezing and my eyes keep watering, I feel really off!" he said wiping his eyes with his handkerchief.

"That would be nice old boy, thanks." Preston said, completely ignoring the fact that Nigel had just said he wasn't feeling well!"

Selfish pig, Nigel thought, and went into the kitchen to make the tea. He took a couple of biscuits out of the tin that Louisa always kept well stocked for "her boys" and brought the tea into the drawing room.

Suddenly the telephone rang and Nigel answered it.

"Hello, is that the Bailey residence?" a familiar voice at the other end of the phone asked. Nigel knew the voice but he couldn't quite place it.

"Yes it is; may I help you? Nigel asked.

"My name is John Franklin" he said, "I'm calling from the British Museum, may I speak to Preston Bailey please?" Nigel was shocked, how does Mr Franklin know Preston! he thought.

"Preston, it's for you, John Franklin from the British Museum" Nigel said, handing the telephone over to him and giving him a dirty look!

"Hello; Preston Bailey here, Mr Franklin."

"Hello, Preston, I have some good news for you, I want to offer you the curator's position" he said gushingly.

"That's wonderful, when would you like me to start?" Preston asked.

"Would next Monday at 8.30 a.m. be too soon?" Mr Franklin enquired.

"No, that would be just fine, thank you so much!" Preston came off the telephone and bragged "I'm going to be a curator at the British Museum!!"

Nigel was livid and shouted "how did you find out about that job Preston!? I went for an interview for that myself today!!"

"Oh, did you Podge? What a coincidence, I read an advertisement in the job section of the newspaper" he lied.

"It wasn't advertised in the newspapers Preston, so how did you hear about it!?" Nigel demanded, being rather brave as he could still have hit him.

"Oh I don't remember" he lied again.

"Did you listen in on my conversation with Professor Bally when he called to tell me about the position!?" Nigel asked, with a very angry expression on his face.

"Certainly not!" he shot back.

"Then how did you know about it!?" Nigel asked, looking really flushed and angry.

"Oh I think Amanda may have mentioned it to me a couple of days ago" Preston said, thinking it would be better than confessing to listening in on his and Professor Bally's telephone conversation; which he had, although it was initially an accident but he didn't put the receiver back down when he realised Nigel was already on the phone!

**(**Preston had been looking for a way to split up Nigel and Amanda, as he was jealous of their relationship and couldn't find a "real" girlfriend himself. At that precise moment it occurred to him that, accusing Amanda of betraying Nigel, was a way of achieving that!

Unfortunately, it was true, Amanda had let slip information about the curator's position to him, but it wasn't deliberate. Nigel was away for the weekend visiting Mr Irons, so Preston rang and asked her to come to the house, telling her that he was bored, lonely and in need of a drink. She only agreed to visit him because she was bored too, with Nigel away, and when Preston suggested that they go to the Hare and Hounds pub, she agreed simply because she enjoyed drinking.

Initially she had every intention of telling Nigel about her visit with Preston and the fact that she'd gone out for a drink with him, as Nigel knew she disliked him as she felt he was domineering, and treated her little Pooh Bear with no respect! However, at the pub, Preston bought her so much alcohol she got completely drunk! Then when he asked her about the job she told him what she remembered, but also said she thought Nigel would do better than him in the position!

Because she'd gotten so drunk, she couldn't remember much about that afternoon, although she vaguely recalled talking to Preston about Nigel's pending interview. She knew Nigel didn't want Preston to know about the job, so she changed her mind about telling him, hoping that Nigel would get the job and he'd never find out about what she'd done**)**.

"What do you mean Amanda mentioned it to you a couple of days ago Preston! She wouldn't have done that!" Nigel said angrily.

"Oh but she did Podge, we had a brilliant date; she's such a good kisser! Oh, I guess you know that! She got a bit tipsy and she told me all about the position. I wasn't going to go for the job but when Amanda said she thought you'd be better at it than me, I changed my mind" he said, laughing at his "cleverness".

"You're a bloody liar Preston!! Amanda might have gotten drunk, and she might have told you things about the job because of that, but she wouldn't touch you with a barge pole!! He was absolutely livid, so much so that he didn't care anymore how big Preston was compared to him. He threw himself at him, trying to punch him in the stomach, or at least push him over! Preston, however, was too fast and too strong for Nigel, and pushed him over the back of a chair, which fell on top of him, landing across his chest, pinning him underneath it! Preston, not realising how hard he'd shoved his little brother, and thinking he was simply too scared to get up, went to see if he was ready for another good hiding. He looked over the top of the upturned chair and, to his horror, noticed that not only was Nigel pinned underneath it, but during the tumble he'd hit his head on the foot of the oak sideboard, which knocked him out cold! Preston could see he was breathing, but he had no idea how badly hurt he was; he panicked, horrified that he'd almost killed his little brother, who was now lying motionless on the floor!

Instead of calling an ambulance, he phoned Louisa, who'd gone home for the evening, who rushed back to the house just as Nigel was coming around.

She was out of breath as she ran into the house and immediately checked Nigel to see if he was alright. She could see he was dazed but appeared to be unhurt except for the bump on the side of his head. She told him to stay still and she would call an ambulance, however, Nigel insisted that he'd be fine, although his head was spinning and he was shaking.

Louisa turned to Preston and demanded "what's been going on!?" She could tell they must have had a fight and that young Nigel came off the worst. However, Preston simply stared at her, thinking oh my God what have I done!

She looked at the drawing room, which was a complete mess with furniture upturned, and a broken crystal fruit bowl smashed on the floor and then shouted at Preston again "what on earth happened here! And what's this old thing!?" She picked up a dirty hairy blanket that looked like it was stuck underneath one of the cushions, on the upturned chair. Preston looked really guilty, but still didn't answer; he just looked down at the floor. "Preston, if you're not going to answer me; at least carry Nigel up to bed!" she said, looking at him in disbelief. Preston went over to his brother who looked so vulnerable just lying on the floor and hugged him. Then, with tears in his eyes he said "I'm so sorry Podge." He put his arms around Nigel's back and underneath his knees and picked him up. Louisa followed him upstairs to Nigel's room, but he still didn't say a word to her. All he really wanted was to apologise to his little brother and said again "I really am so very sorry Podge; I didn't mean to hurt you!" Nigel didn't answer him; he just glared at him, too upset to speak. By the way he looked it was obvious he was thinking; that's it! You've gone too far this time! Preston left and went back downstairs realising he was not going to get away with this.

"Are you really alright darling?" Louisa asked, as she stroked his head and pushed the hair out of his eyes, worried that he might be concussed.

"Yes I'm fine nana, please don't make a fuss, my eyes are puffy because my allergy is playing up for some reason" he said, sneezing again. She left the room and went to find Preston, who was now sat in the dining room with his hands covering his face, hiding a very guilty look.

"Are you going to tell me what happened Preston!!?" she asked very angrily.

As old as Preston was he didn't dare lie to her when she was this irate and he knew Nigel would tell her anyway, so he just blurted out his crimes, explaining everything he'd done.

"I'm not surprised he's angry Preston! This is just the way you behaved as a child! You just had to compete with him for everything; he learnt the piano, so you had to, he started to paint, so you had to paint. Whenever he did anything, even public speaking; which he had to force himself to do, because he's so shy, you had to do it too! He's your little brother for goodness sake and you've behaved appallingly towards him. Don't you think he's had enough to cope with all his life being treated differently to other boys, because he's so clever!? He never had any friends when he was a child, nobody who cared for him, except me and your parents; when they were alive. It was so rare that you acted like a caring brother, you mostly behaved like a cruel father, leaving him at boarding school for so long, knowing how unhappy he was, and punishing him so severely when he got angry and frustrated because you wouldn't listen to him. You had parents until you were nineteen who loved you so much, he was only a little boy of twelve when they died, and he needed to be loved, but you just terrified him and I believe that's why he became so withdrawn. To be honest, I think you had ulterior motives for insisting he stayed at boarding school, not because it was best for him, but because it was easier for you to have those awful "girls" you picked up off the streets at home!" I believe that's why you smacked him so hard too, so that he wouldn't want to be here!"

She was absolutely furious with him and really wished she'd said something before. Preston looked at the floor and said "I'm so ashamed of myself, nanny; I don't know what comes over me at times. I really do love him very much; it just seemed to me, until what you've just said, that he got everything he wanted. You're right though, I didn't want him being exposed to the "girls" I invited home; he's always been so innocent and that's the reason I punished him so harshly, so he'd want to go back to school. If any of those girls got hold of him I'd never forgive myself! He's such a good looking boy, I wish I had his looks; I wouldn't need prostitutes then! Preston was feeling really embarrassed as he'd no idea that Louisa knew about his "secret", until that moment. He covered his face with his hands and then said "I feel just awful nanny, I really do. I know it was terrible the way I treated him but I really had no idea just how bad things were for him. I thought his life was so much better than mine, bearing in mind I had all those responsibilities forced on me when I was so young, but now I realise it wasn't.

Louisa was about to continue the lecture when she suddenly looked at the mess on the floor in the drawing room and said suspiciously "now, tell me about this dirty disgusting blanket here...... is it covered in horse hair!!?" she said, as a sudden shock went through her body as she recalled Nigel mentioning his allergy was playing up. Preston bowed his head and confessed "I got the blanket from my friend's stable so I could put it in the chair that Podge reads in. I put it there this morning, knowing he'd have an allergic reaction before he went for the interview! I'm so sorry nanny; I really am! I just wanted the job so badly." Louisa was sickened and totally shocked that he would do such a terrible thing to his brother, especially knowing how ill he could get when exposed to horse hair!

Do you think he'll ever forgive me nanny?" Preston asked, hoping she would say yes.

"I really don't know you'll just have to wait and see" she said, feeling quite nauseated and thinking, I don't understand how he got to be so cruel.

Louisa made Preston feel about two inches tall; and he knew he'd need to do a lot of work to repair his relationship with her, but even more so with Nigel. He began to realise just how heartless and selfish he'd been towards his younger brother, never considering how those things would impact on his later life. He was feeling very sorry for himself, but even sorrier for Nigel and wished he'd controlled his jealousy, anger and desires but, of course, he couldn't turn the clock back.

Preston went back upstairs and confessed the truth about Amanda to Nigel, who was very relieved that he'd come clean. Noting that Nigel was quite calm about his confession and thinking Louisa would inform him about the blanket, he decided to tell him first. Nigel, who was still feeling quite unwell, immediately yelled "What!!!" He was outraged; so much so that he forgot again how much bigger and stronger his brother was compared to him and shouted "You bloody horrible swine!! How could you do such a thing to me? Have you any idea how much I wanted that job? Or how debilitating this allergy can be!? Get out of my room now!" Preston, who would, not so long ago, have punished him for swearing and shouting, apologised again, hung his head, and went into his own bedroom feeling so downhearted at the thought of Nigel never speaking to him again but relieved he was still alive!

Louisa checked on Nigel a little later and thought he looked so sweet but sad lying there in his bed. He looked up at her and said "nana, I've been thinking, I really need to do something with my life, I can't stay around here any longer as I simply can't trust Preston with anything, so I'm going to leave home" Louisa tried to interrupt him but he continued "wherever I am I'll let you know nana, but you have to promise you won't tell Preston, so will you keep it a secret?"

"Of course I will sweetheart, but you shouldn't leave home just because of Preston, this is your home too, you jointly own it" she said feeling really worried about what Nigel was planning, realising he really wasn't ready to be out in the world on his own just yet.

"I know nana, that won't change, Preston won't do anything wrong in relation to the house" he said, thinking he'd miss his home, but he'd already spent eight years of his life living away from it!

"Get some rest now sweetie" she said, hoping he'd change his mind once he slept on it.

"Night nana" he said. Louisa kissed him on the cheek, stroked his hair and said "goodnight sweetheart" and went to her room.

She began to mull over all of the things that Preston had told her and realised that Nigel would probably always resent the punishments and other things that Preston had done to him since their parents died. She simply couldn't bring herself to tell him why Preston smacked him so hard, thinking that would drive an even bigger wedge between them. She knew that one day Nigel would confront Preston about the past but for now he had enough on his mind.

She tried to rest but all she kept thinking about was what had happened to those two wonderful little boys she loved so very much.

**PLEASE REVIEW – I would like to hear from you if you are enjoying the story as that will encourage me to put up the next chapter! **

**In the next chapter find out how Nigel got the job at Trinity College, what happened when he first got to America and how a girl broke his heart!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

**America**

Nigel left home two days after his fight with his brother and he didn't speak to him during that time. He telephoned Amanda and told her what Preston had said about her and their "date" and Amanda immediately shot back "that's not completely true Pooh, I...."

He stopped her and said "It's alright, Preston confessed he'd made most of it up and that he got you so drunk, you didn't know what you were saying. I know you didn't mean to tell him anything." Of course, Nigel was only human and couldn't help feeling that she should have known better than to go to a pub with Preston, but he didn't say that.

She was so glad that he realised it wasn't deliberate and said "Pooh, I feel terrible about what I did, I'm so sorry, I've spoiled our friendship and broken your trust."

"It's OK Amanda" he said, not able to bring himself to use her pet name, feeling as he did, and knowing he was about to leave "I simply have to get away from the house; I just can't bear to be around Preston right now. I need a clean break so I can start afresh on my own, even though I'm scared to death! I'm not sure what I'm going to do, but I hope that one day I'll be able to put this all behind me; please don't hate me Amanda.... bye." Nigel's head was in turmoil but at least, he thought, she didn't make it more difficult by trying to stop him leaving.

After Nigel had put the telephone down Amanda kept thinking about her relationship with him and realised she loved him and didn't want him to leave. She called the house the next day to tell him, but he'd already gone and nobody seemed to know where he was.

Nigel had actually moved back to Oxford with Uncle George and Aunty Alice, who thought of him like a son. He arranged to stay with them for a month, hoping that by then he'd have pulled himself together and found a job. He explained to Uncle George what had happened at home and George said "son one of these days a position will come along and you'll know, without a doubt, that it's the job for you. The problem with you young man is that you have the knowledge of a forty year old, the body of a twenty year old and the face of a baby! You are too over qualified for the usual jobs that young graduates get offered. What you need is a job where you will continue to learn, that will challenge you, a job that's completely different and where your employer needs the knowledge that you possess in that amazing brain of yours. One day, son, you'll have your dream job, I'm sure of it!"

A few weeks before Nigel moved back in with the Ballys', George had been in touch with Professor Sydney Fox, of Trinity College, which was near Boston, on the East Coast of America. George had telephoned Sydney on a personal matter, as he'd known her for years, having originally met her in Boston when she was just a student.

During their conversation Sydney had asked George, who she always referred to as Bally, if he knew of anyone qualified to be her teaching assistant. She worked in the Ancient Studies Department and explained that she'd recently had terrible problems keeping her assistants as they'd either been next to useless, or only good at certain things, whereas she needed a talented all rounder.

"Actually Sydney, I do know a young man who'd be perfect for that position" he said.

"That's great Bally; the reason I ask is that I'm not sure if the assistant I have at the moment is going to be any good, so please keep in mind whoever that guy is, in case I need him."

"No problem Sydney, I will, bye, speak to you soon." George put the telephone down and thought I really hope the job comes up; it could be just the thing for Nigel, if he doesn't get the job at the British Museum.

George didn't say anything about the job to Nigel when he came to visit; as he didn't want to build up his hopes, in case the job didn't become vacant. However, a couple of days before Nigel was due to leave Oxford, George received another call from Professor Fox who said "Hi Bally; it's Sydney, are you OK?"

"Sydney! How lovely to hear from you again, I'm very well, what about you?" he said.

"Fine thanks, except I have to look for another teaching assistant. That last one I told you about was quite good, but he got scared off when I took him on a relic hunt! He was terrified of just about everything and when we got back to the college he left without so much as a days notice!" Shame really, he was really good in the office and classroom, so I guess that gives you a clue why I'm calling."

"Well, yes" he said, "you must be ringing about the young man I told you about; his name's Nigel Bailey." Although George had known Sydney for a long time, he'd only briefly mentioned, a few years before, that he and Alice were looking after a student who was too young to live on campus. "Nigel is an extremely clever young man; I think he'd be perfect for the job, he's certainly well qualified in ancient studies, would you like to meet him?" he asked.

"I would, but I won't be able to interview him myself, do you think you could arrange for him to meet Professor Maggs, at Cambridge University? He could interview him for me and then, depending how the interview goes, I could speak to Professor Maggs about him. If he believes that Nigel's suitable for the position, and he actually wants it, then I'll have my other assistant, Claudia, make all the travel arrangements to fly him over here. So, what do you think?"

"That'll be no problem, I can arrange that but, of course, I'll have to speak to Nigel first; he's never mentioned he'd like to go to America, or work as a teaching assistant, but I think it would be a fantastic opportunity for him. Sydney, I can guarantee that once you meet him, you'll like him, so if he's interested, and I really hope he is, I'll speak to Professor Maggs" George said, feeling quite excited.

"Thanks Bally" she said "speak to you soon."

George could hardly wait to tell Nigel about the position, hoping this would be the job of his dreams. Once he'd spoken to him about it he was very enthusiastic, partly because it was so far away, so he wouldn't have to deal with Preston, but also it would take his mind off Amanda. He didn't actually think the job wouldn't be that challenging, but the idea of passing on his knowledge to students, excited him. Even though he was very shy, he was quite good at public speaking, as long as he knew the subject well (For three years running, starting at age seven, Nigel had taken fifth; fourth and third place at the All Schools Public Speaking Competition, which was held each year in Bath. Preston was first on a couple of occasions and second once, although he was a teenager when he took part). Because Nigel was so knowledgeable about history and ancient languages he felt he would be able to stand in front of a class and teach.

George arranged the interview and drove Nigel to Cambridge himself, to give him moral support. Nigel did really well, and impressed Professor Maggs with his knowledge and enthusiasm. The only thing that worried the professor was that he might be too young to work for Sydney Fox. He knew that she wasn't just looking for an ordinary assistant, she wanted someone special; someone she could train to be a relic hunter, as well as assist her in the classroom. He was well aware of some of the tasks that Nigel would be expected to perform in the field. However, not wishing to scare him off, he kept that information to himself; indicating only that some travelling would be involved, although he explained his college duties in full. The professor thought really hard about Nigel, and eventually convinced himself that he was far too brilliant and knowledgeable to pass up, even if he was only twenty and rather shy. He asked Nigel if he thought he would like the job, to which he replied "I certainly think so! It sounds like a nice little teaching job, and they must have a fantastic library at the college!" The professor smiled at him and said that Professor Fox would explain more about his duties when he met her. Nigel realised there must be more to the position than the professor was saying and felt that was being withheld from him. However, he thought whatever it was he'd deal with it when the time came as he just wanted the job so badly by the time this thought came into his head.

When Professor Maggs told Sydney about Nigel, he omitted to say how young he was, thinking that once she realised the knowledge he had in that amazing brain of his; she wouldn't care about his age.

Nigel began wondering what some of his friends at Oxford would think of him becoming a teaching assistant. He imagined they would consider the position was beneath him. However, he felt it was a good idea to do something like this, until he was a bit older, and had more experience of the ways of the world. He didn't actually plan on telling many people anyway, in case it got back to Preston! He just knew that one day he wanted to be a Professor of Ancient Studies and this particular position would help him with that.

When the position was offered to Nigel he realised what a wonderful opportunity this would be to do his masters. He, therefore, asked Professor Fox and the Dean of the college if he could be given time to study and attend lectures; as well as teach and assist the professor. Having seen his CV they instantly agreed, not wanting to run the risk of losing this genius to another university.

Two months later, having extended his visit with the Ballys', Nigel was booked on a flight across the Atlantic. He was looking forward to starting his first job and living in a different country, although, having spoken to Professor Maggs again, he still felt that something was being kept from him!

Nigel arrived at Heathrow Airport early for his flight to Boston. He'd been given a first class ticket and was excited and nervous at the same time. He'd only ever flown on short flights to Europe before; however, this flight was going to be about seven hours. He'd brought three books with him, although he thought he might watch the movie to pass the time.

He was shown to his seat by a really pretty stewardess, who smiled and took his coat. When all the passengers had boarded she immediately came around with some Champaign. When she got to Nigel's seat he said "I'll just have a small glass please." The stewardess looked at him and asked quite quietly, so as not to embarrass him, "are you eighteen? You have to be eighteen or over to have alcohol."

He blushed and replied politely "Yes Miss, I'll be twenty one in three weeks."

"Oh, you don't look it!" she said pouring out the Champaign and offering him a serviette. "Are you travelling alone?" she asked.

"Yes I'm going to America to work as a teaching assistant" he said, thinking she'll realise he's an adult if she knows he's starting work soon.

"My goodness" she said, quite surprised "what school are you going to be teaching at?"

"Trinity College, near Boston, I'm going to work in the Ancient Studies Department, I start the job in a week" he said smiling at the pretty stewardess.

"I know Trinity, my sister used to go there, she studied law, but she lives in Australia now. I live very close to Trinity myself actually... Oh, I'd better go now Sir" she said, noticing that the head stewardess was watching her practically drooling over Nigel!

He thought she was a lovely girl and wondered if she had a boyfriend and then settled down with one of his books as the flight took off.

He'd only been reading for about ten minutes when he noticed that the passenger sat next to him, who was a very large man, was staring and smiling at him strangely. Nigel looked back at him a few times, feeling very self-conscious; wishing he'd stop staring and watch the movie or something. The next thing he knew there was a large hand on his thigh! Nigel pulled away sharply and checked that the man wasn't angry, but he was just sitting there smiling at him! A few minutes later he did it again so Nigel leapt to his feet, trying not to squeal, and rushed towards the washroom. On the way there he bumped into the young stewardess again who said "oh hello, can I get you anything?"

"Hi, no I'm fine, I just had to get away from that man sitting next to me; he keeps touching me!" Nigel blushed scarlet.

"Do you want me to find you another seat? There are some spare ones so you can move if you like" she said, thinking, gosh he's so good looking.

"Oh, yes please, I don't think I could stand another six hours of him mauling me!" he said, shivering at the very idea.

She looked at him and thought; I wouldn't mind mauling you myself! "You can sit right there" she said, pointing to a seat three rows behind his previous one. "I'll go and get your things for you, unfortunately, that creep's often on my flights and he always causes problems with young boys. Oh, by the way, my name's Sherry Harvey."

"I'm Nigel, Nigel Bailey, thanks very much for helping me Sherry" he said, smiling as she left to get his things.

After that the flight went much better and Sherry looked after him particularly well, as she really fancied him and noticed he was nervous. She couldn't help but stare at him and thought he must have lots of girlfriends back in England.

About forty minutes before they landed Sherry and Nigel had a further chat and he told her where he'd be living for the next month; which was in an apartment that the college had rented for him.

"Nigel I know where your apartment is, it's really close to where I live, so if you like, I could give you a lift and make sure you have everything you need for your first night in America" she said, hoping he would say yes!

"That would be brilliant, thank you so much Sherry, I'll give you some money for the petrol, oh I mean gas" he said, looking really happy.

"There's no need for that, as I said, I live really close to your apartment."

"Thanks Sherry, I really appreciate it" Nigel replied thinking, she's so kind.

"OK then, I'll collect my car from the employee's car park and meet you by the Avis Car Hire booth, I'll have you at your apartment in no time" she said with a twinkle in her eye, just as the pilot announced they were about to land.

When they got to his apartment building he was surprised to see it was rather grand, with a lovely entrance hall. There was a doorman sat near the beautiful glass front door and Nigel had to speak to him through the intercom on the wall.

"Yes, may I help you" the doorman asked, looking through the glass directly at Nigel.

"My name's Nigel Bailey; I believe Trinity College has rented an apartment for me, number 20 they said it was."

"Oh yes Mr Bailey" he said, staring at Nigel with a surprised look on his face. "I was actually expecting someone a little older, the administrator at Trinity said you were going to work for Sydney Fox and her assistants are usually about twenty five to thirty."

"Oh" he said, thinking I hope she doesn't think I'm too young when I get to meet her!

"Who's that with you Mr Bailey?" he asked.

"This is my friend Miss Harvey, who I met on the plane; she's going to help me settle in" he said, hoping that wouldn't be a problem.

"Oh, you've found a friend already, that's good" the doorman said, thinking I bet he gets loads of girls after him looking like that!

The doorman was a very pleasant man, who was very conscientious, and extremely careful about whom he'd permit to enter the building. He helped Nigel carry his large suitcase from the car to the hallway, realising he'd struggle with the six steps leading up to the door. Nigel and Sherry carried the smaller pieces of matching luggage and put them in the lift along with the large case. Nigel took a deep breath and the doorman immediately sensed he was a little nervous and said "my name's Fred Hart, Mr Bailey, if you need anything at all just press the button marked "Fred" on the wall in your apartment and I'll try and help if I can, don't be shy, I get bored sitting around so much!"

Nigel felt quite relieved and said "Um, that's very kind of you Sir; I may have to take you up on that, thank you, oh please call me Nigel." The doors of the lift closed and Sherry pressed button number 3 and the lift ascended to the third floor.

They entered the apartment and Nigel was very pleased to see it was beautifully decorated, had lovely modern furniture and a fabulous kitchen. He went into the kitchen to see if any provisions had been left for him and he was delighted to see there was some bread, eggs, cereal, coffee, milk and bottled water. There were also three frozen dinners in the freezer which he only needed to put in the microwave for a few minutes.

By the time he'd finished looking around it was 7.00 p.m. so Sherry suggested they go over the road to "Dino's Restaurant" to have dinner, telling him "I don't want you to eat a TV dinner on your first night in America!"

Nigel laughed and said "I've never had one, are they that bad?"

"Oh, they're OK in an emergency, but I'd rather have the real thing!" Sherry said, dragging him out the door. Nigel was amazed at the size of the portions they served in this restaurant and only managed to eat half of his dinner, although Sherry ate all of hers. She ordered a bottle of wine to go with the meal and drank a couple of glasses, although Nigel only had one, which made him feel a little less inhibited. He still didn't drink very often, and would almost always get tipsy if he drank more than one glass.

Nigel paid for the dinner as he wanted to pay Sherry back for driving him to his apartment. She shot back "but I'm paying next time!" Nigel was rather pleased to hear that as it implied there was going to be "a next time"!

They got back to the apartment at around 9.30 p.m. and went to see what was on television. Not finding anything they both liked they sat and chatted for an hour or so. Sherry suddenly yawned and said, "I'm sorry Nigel but I'm going to have to go, I've been up for well over 24 hours and I need my beauty sleep." He was a little disappointed but realised it was getting late. They exchanged numbers and said goodnight to each other.

He looked around his apartment and felt so happy to be there; it was such a nice place, although completely different in style to his own home. Suddenly feeling very tired himself he found his toiletries, showered, cleaned his teeth and went to bed, thinking he was the luckiest man in the world!

The next morning he got up quite early, had breakfast and then started to unpack. He found there was plenty of room for all of his clothes, most of which were very expensive items by Armani, Calvin Klein and Hugo Boss. He'd always worn designer clothes, which Preston, being his "guardian", always bought for him from Harrods. He laughed when he found some silk underwear that Aunty Alice had bought him, which he really liked; although they were covered with strawberries! Wrapped in his other underwear, to protect them, were some framed photographs of his parents and Nanny Wright; there were a couple which included Preston in them too, which he placed by the side of his bed. The one thing he couldn't leave behind in England was his little polar bear, he'd had it all his life and even though it was a gift from Preston, he still loved it. He had such fond memories of playing with the bear on his parent's bed; he simply had to have it with him. The only other thing he brought with him, to remind him of home, was his little Union Jack flag which he intended to put in his pen pot on his desk at Trinity.

At about 10 a.m. he suddenly realised he hadn't called Nanny Wright to tell her that he'd arrived safely in America and it was 3 p.m. in England! He felt a bit guilty for not calling earlier and hoped she wasn't too upset.

"Hello nana, are you alright? I'm just calling to tell you I've arrived in one piece and that everything is fine!" he said.

"Oh sweetheart, it's so good to hear your voice; I was really worried about you on that long flight, you sound alright though. Preston's keeps asking me where you are, he's really concerned about you Nigel. I've found him sitting in your room looking really depressed several times; he's feeling so guilty about what he did to you. I won't tell him your whereabouts until you're ready though. I've told him you're safe, that he mustn't fret and that you'd contact him in your own good time" she said, hoping it wouldn't be too long before he'd do that because she was now worrying about Preston's state of mind.

"Thanks nana, I appreciate it, I can't deal with him at the minute; I've got too much on my mind. If he'd answered the phone when I rang just now I'd have hung up. I still have to settle in my new job and get things sorted out in my flat; or should I say apartment. It's really nice nana, I'm only supposed to have it for a month, but I'm going to ask if I can keep it a while longer, it'll probably take ages to find another place. The doorman, Fred, who lives downstairs, is really nice too and I feel very safe with him there" he said, realising just how important it was to let her know he was in good hands.

Nigel gave Louisa his new telephone number and reminded her that there was a five hour time difference between England and the east coast of America. "There's an answer phone nana, so you can leave me a message any time and I'll call you back as soon as I can. I'll be getting a mobile phone soon, they call them cell phones here; you'll be able to contact me no matter where I am then. You are alright, aren't you nana?"

"Yes darling I'm fine, just missing being able to see your dear face. Oh, sweetie, Preston's just come in, he looks really miserable, so I'll say goodbye, I love you darling" she said.

"I love you too nana, bye." He put the telephone down and thought; I wish nana lived with me instead of Preston and wondered if his brother really was suffering because he felt so guilty about the past.

A few hours later, just as he was about to go and check out the neighbourhood, the door bell rang. He went over to the intercom and asked "who is it?"

"Hi Nigel, it's Sherry, can I come up?"

"Of course you can!" He was thrilled she'd come back and immediately pressed the button to let her in. He left his apartment door open so that she could come straight in and went into the kitchen to put the kettle on. Sherry came in wearing a tight fitting pair of designer jeans and a lovely pink top. He thought she looked like a model, and smiled at her shyly.

"Come in Sherry, lovely to see you again, would you like a cup of coffee?" he asked.

"No thanks, I've brought some wine for us both" she replied, holding up two bottles.

"Oh yes, how thoughtful of you, um would you mind opening a bottle, I'm no good at it?" he said, thinking, I'm going to be as tipsy as hell drinking so early in the day. However, he didn't want to refuse as it looked like she'd bought it especially for them.

She opened the first bottle, poured out two glasses and as the afternoon progressed, they finished them both. Nigel, not being used to so much alcohol, couldn't stop giggling but he suddenly felt sick. Noticing he was unsteady, Sherry held his arm and walked him to the bathroom, where she left him and wandered through the door directly opposite, which was Nigel's bedroom. Nigel threw up and felt a little better so he washed his face and cleaned his teeth. As he left the bathroom he noticed, as he looked into his bedroom, that Sherry was lying on his bed, so he asked innocently "are you tired Sherry?"

"No I'm not tired; I just thought you might like to come and have a cuddle with me" she said with a seductive look on her face. Nigel blushed bright red; he was still a virgin even though he was almost twenty one. "Um, yes that would be nice" he said, kicking off his shoes and sitting at the end of the bed.

"Come here you gorgeous man" she said, moving towards him and dragging him up to the top of the bed. She pulled him into a tight embrace, kissed him hard on the lips and he kissed her back, really enjoying it but feeling rather nervous too. "Don't worry Nigel, I've got some condoms" she said in a matter of fact way.

Nigel was shocked!

Amanda had never acted this way with him, even though she wanted to, which was why he was still so innocent. Amanda knew that he wasn't mature enough, emotionally; to have sexual relationship, as his upbringing made him more reserved than most young men. She also knew how Professor and Mrs Bally felt about her and Nigel and as much as she had a side to her that was slightly unscrupulous, she didn't want them to think badly of her and put her sexual feelings for Nigel to the back of her mind.

Sherry pulled Nigel closer and tugged at his shirt, which she unbuttoned and pulled backwards over his shoulders. She undid the button and zip on his trousers and knelt on the bed leaning back slightly, making seductive movements with her body. "Aren't you going to undress me Mr Sexy Pants?" she said.

"Oh, oh, yes I, I would like to" he said very nervously. She laughed and said "come on then, tear them off!!!" He wouldn't do that, of course, but he gently pulled her top over her head and saw her beautiful breasts protruding over the top of her bra. He got very excited and the next thing he knew, she'd pulled down her own jeans and panties and pushed him backwards! As Nigel led on his back, she grabbed his trousers and underwear and pulled them off, leaving him completely naked! He was very embarrassed and tried to cover himself up by crossing his arms over his chest and keeping his legs together. He kept looking away as she removed her bra and then realised she too was naked!

She guessed by this time that he was a virgin so she put the condom on him, pulled a sheet over the top of them and coached him through his first time at love making. Sherry was a good teacher, being very experienced with men and Nigel was absolutely ecstatic that he, at last, had made love to a woman. Sherry appeared to be enjoying herself too, which made him feel even happier!

They made love three times over the space of the next six hours as Sherry patiently taught him the wonders of love making. After the third time they both fell asleep in each other's arms and Nigel felt so contented. He had no idea how wonderful it could be to be with a woman, but he was also feeling a little guilty as he'd only been in America a couple of days and he was already getting drunk and having sex!! If Nanny Wright, Uncle George and Aunty Alice could see him now, he thought, they'd be very disappointed and angry with him and goodness only knows what Preston would have done!!

Sherry, on the other hand, thought Nigel was one of the sweetest and most sincere young men she'd ever met but she suddenly felt terribly guilty too as what she hadn't told him was, at the end of the week, she was leaving to live in Australia!

She went home the following morning and didn't say anything to him about Australia. She felt awful about stealing his innocence but she truly had no idea when she started to make love to him, that he was a virgin; otherwise she wouldn't have attempted to seduce him. The trouble was, once she did get him into bed, she enjoyed being with his so much she forgot about the consequences! She knew he'd be thinking he was in love with her as she recalled how she felt after her first time, when she was eighteen; she thought she loved the guy, but she now realised just how naive she was. Her first love dumped her after only two days and she was absolutely heartbroken. It took her months to get over. She realised that Nigel wasn't just any old guy; he was sensitive, caring and thoughtful, nothing like the other men she'd been with. None of her past boyfriends would've cared about having a one night stand, but Nigel, she could tell, was different.

She sat in her apartment thinking about how to tell him she was leaving; the guilt was simply killing her. She knew she shouldn't keep putting it off, as it would only make matters worse if Nigel really felt as she believed he did. Her conscience finally got the better of her and she rang Nigel; not feeling that she could stand to see his face turn to sadness; before her eyes. "Hi Nigel, it's me, Sherry" she said, feeling really shaky.

"Sherry, sweetheart, missing me already are you?" he said feeling so happy to hear from her "I'm missing you."

"Nigel, I'm afraid I have to tell you something and I know you are going to hate me" she said, a lump coming into her throat.

"You're not dumping me are you Sherry!? Please don't say that!" he said, his heart thumping inside his chest.

"Nigel it's not exactly that, it's just, just, oh!... I wish I'd told you before we made love! I'm so sorry but I'm going to Australia to live, I leave at the end of the week! I'm really sorry, I didn't mean things to happen this way, I really care about you; honestly, I do!" she said, choking back the tears.

"I can't believe it! Sherry don't go; please!" he said, starting to tremble.

"Nigel, I had no idea it was your first time when I lured you into bed, I just fancied you so much and only thought about me. I had no idea that me leaving would matter to you when we started making love, honestly I didn't. Please forgive me, I didn't mean to hurt you. I think you're the nicest guy I've ever met, I wish things were different, I think you'll make someone a wonderful husband one day" she said feeling just dreadful.

"Why do you have to go Sherry?" he said, obviously on the verge of tears.

"My mom and dad emigrated to Australia six months ago, and my dad, who used to be so strong and healthy, got sick four months later. If anything happens to him, and I'm not there to help mom, she'd have a nervous breakdown, I'm sure of it, she's absolutely devoted to my dad. My sister's already there, but she's a trainee lawyer, so she doesn't have a lot of free time for the family. My dad worries about mom being left on her own too, and it's not good for him to worry all the time. I love them and miss them so much; I doubt you can imagine what that's like, but you will when you've been in America for a while, you'll miss your mom and dad too; just like I miss mine and then you'll understand how I feel."

"My mum and dad died when I was twelve, I know what it's like to miss someone. I guess I understand and I hope you have a good life in Australia, I really do, bye" he said.

"Bye Nigel, you have a good life too, you deserve it, please try not to hate me" She said sincerely.

He put the phone down and started to cry, thinking I'm never going to let another woman into my life again, it just hurts too much!! I wish I'd never met her! Uncle George and Aunty Alice were right all along! He went into the kitchen to get some water, slumped down on a chair and crossed his arms on the top of the table where buried his face and cried his heart out.

After a while he began to think about his past and realised he'd actually led a very privileged, yet sheltered, life, even if he did have a very rough time at boarding school. He'd come from a very wealthy family, had gone to some top schools, and one of the best universities in the world. He remembered how unhappy he was following the death of his parents, thinking at that time he'd never be happy again. However, when he went to university he was very happy and felt truly loved by the Ballys'.

He then began to mull over the events of the last couple of days and tried to think logically. After about an hour he'd calmed down considerably and felt he was being rather silly; he knew Sherry didn't do this deliberately. She'd made him so happy, even if it was for just a short while, and showed him how to be a man, instead of a boy. He knew he should be thanking her, not wishing he'd never met her and realised he would be mad not to allow another girl into his life. He wanted to have a family one day so he knew he'd have take the chance that he'd get his heart broken again; otherwise he was going to be very lonely!

He started to cheer up a little and began thinking about his first ever job that he was about to start at Trinity College. He knew this was going to be a new phase in his relatively short life, and wondered what the future would hold for a young man like him. His thoughts became more positive and he knew that everything would be fine; he just had to move forward. He thought again about Sherry and realised that he hadn't been wrong about her at all, she really was a very special girl, and the fact that she had to leave was just a one of those things that happens in life. He knew he'd never forget her but at that moment he just wished his nana was there to reassure him with one of her special hugs.

**PLEASE REVIEW – I would like to hear from you if you are enjoying the story as that will encourage me to put up the next chapter! **

**In the next chapter find out about Nigel first meeting with Sydney Fox, his first Relic Hunts and why Sydney thought he'd lied on his CV to get the job!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight **

**Trinity and Sydney**

A few days after Sherry had broken the bad news to him he found himself walking onto the campus of Trinity College. As he wandered up to the main building he began to feel very self-conscious as several young women smiled at him and looked him up and down. He blushed, checked his fly, which was fully zipped, so he couldn't work out why they were staring. The fact that he was extremely good looking and, therefore, very appealing to the female students, didn't occur to him!

He found the reception desk and, feeling very nervous, said "hello, my name's Nigel Bailey, I'm Professor Fox's new teaching assistant, can you please show me the way to the Ancient Studies Department?"

"It's just along the corridor, you can't miss it, you'll probably hear Professor Fox dancing to some tribal music!" the receptionist said, looking at him and thinking, my God you're gorgeous, and so young, how is anyone going to know you're a teacher! The receptionist pointed to the general direction that he should take.

"Thanks" he said shyly wondering what she meant by "dancing to some tribal music".

He found the Ancient Studies Department, where he saw a young blond girl speaking on the telephone, obviously talking to a friend about clothes. The girl turned around, saw Nigel standing there and said "gotto go" to whoever it was on the phone. "Hi" she said "are you a new student?"

"No I'm here to see Professor Sydney Fox; I'm her new teaching assistant, Nigel Bailey."

She looked rather surprised and said "Ah huh, I'm Claudia, I'll take you to see Sydney; she's in the classroom."

Once they got there he realised what the receptionist meant as, indeed, Professor Fox was dancing to tribal music! She was wearing a red feathered tribal outfit that was very short and quite revealing. My goodness, he thought, with his heart almost in his mouth, this is Sydney Fox; she's not at all what I expected! He immediately thought she was really beautiful and had an amazing body. She was waving a spear and danced quite suggestively as she saw him stood by the door. Suddenly, she yelled "Ahhhhh!" and threw the spear, which flew past his ear and landed in the doorframe! "You must be Nigel" she said, as his eyes almost popped out of his head!

They walked to the office area together where Nigel started to unpack some of the books he'd had shipped from England. Sydney went into her office and without closing the shutters on the partition windows, began to undress! She was fully aware that Nigel could see her but thought nothing of it. He looked away, and tried to hide his embarrassment by asking questions about the origins of the dance; which she explained, as she put on her jacket over her bra!

Nigel had only been in the office about half an hour when Sydney was informed that some people from Kushinagar, in Nepal, wanted a word with her about a relic. The next thing he knew he was on his way to Nepal, with Sydney, to find Buddha's bowl! Claudia booked their flight and Nigel could hardly believe what was happening.

Sydney slept throughout most of the flight until Nigel accidentally woke her having had a nasty nightmare. He'd dreamt about the Elephant Man, being punished by Preston; which made him jerk and jump, and about the spear being thrown at him! Sydney checked he was alright and then settled down to read a book on Buddhism. After she'd read a few pages she stopped, realising she'd better explain to Nigel what he might encounter on the relic hunt. Nigel listened to her and began to wonder what on earth he'd gotten himself into!

His first relic hunt was terrifying, amazing and fun, all at the same time. He followed Sydney wherever she went and was absolutely astonished by her martial arts skills, which she used on several occasions.

The hunt was very successful, the bowl being found inside a statue of Buddha that was big enough to climb inside and walk around in! They gave the bowl to the people of Kushinagar to put in their monument that they'd built as a testament to Buddha's teachings.

On the way back to America Sydney asked Nigel what he thought about the hunt and he replied "I found it a bit daunting really." He began to wonder how often he'd be dragged off in search of a relic, but he didn't actually ask. As he sat in the plane thinking about the events of the past few days he suddenly realised that this was what had been kept from him at his interview!

As they flew home Sydney kept thinking about Nigel, realising what an asset he was. She really liked him but she was also very confused about him as when she'd employed him, having only read his CV and spoken to Professor Maggs, she thought he'd be about thirty. It wasn't until she met him that she realised he was younger, although she still thought he had to be at least twenty five to have gotten so many qualifications. However, when they were in Nepal he came across as very youthful, in fact, nowhere near the age of her previous assistants.

She tried to recall the details on his CV, which she believed stated he had five degrees and could speak many languages etc. She retrieved it from the filing cabinet and reread it, which confirmed she was correct. Even though she'd noticed he was extremely knowledgeable, she didn't like being lied to or taken for a fool and realised she was going to have to question him about this; thinking he must have greatly exaggerated things on his CV to get the job.

The next day, about forty minutes before they normally finished work, Sydney asked Nigel to step into her office. She didn't want to immediately accuse him of lying and most certainly didn't want him to leave, but she wanted to get to the bottom of it. She decided she would just ask him some simple questions about himself, to see if he slipped up. He came into her office looking a little irritated and asked "what do you want to see me about Syd? I planned to go home early, don't you remember I worked through my lunch break!"

"Oh yes, sorry Nigel, sit down, it won't take a minute, um... how old are you?"

"I'm twenty one, today's my birthday" he said, appearing not to care about the fact that it was such a special day in a young man's life and giving her a look that said, why on earth do you need to know that.

"Oh my goodness, I wish I'd known, I would have arranged a party for you" she said, trying not to feel he's definitely lying somewhere along the line!

"That's OK I don't want any fuss" he said shyly.

"Nigel, you're twenty one, you're only twenty one once!" she replied, thinking I don't know what to ask him now!

"Yes I know, but it's OK, I don't know anyone here yet, apart from you and Claudia. I just want to go home and ring some people, especially Louisa Wright, who was my nanny when I was a child. They'll probably have already left a few messages on my answer machine. Is there anything else Syd?"

"Oh, I was just wondering about your CV, I'm rather surprised that you mention so many qualifications and skills. Please don't take this the wrong way but how could you have possibly done all that at your age? Have you exaggerated anything?" It seemed to have completely slipped her mind that Nigel wanted to do his masters while he was working for her!

Nigel looked rather upset and said "No, I certainly haven't! It's completely factual; I have all my original documents from Oxford University at home, if you want to see them... and um no, I didn't print them off the internet, in case you were wondering! If you ring Professor Bally he'll tell you I'm not lying!"

"Nigel you've just told me you're only twenty one, it's hard to believe this is the CV of a twenty one year old!" she said, waving his CV in the air, although noting he didn't appear to have had any previous jobs. "Come on Nigel, I don't want to fire you, I just want to know the truth! I realise you know a lot about ancient history... but five degrees! If you got them at Oxford University, how old were you when you went there?" she asked, thinking he won't be able to give her a satisfactory explanation.

"I was fifteen!" he shouted "I was there for five years" he said feeling really hurt.

"Fifteen, you went to Oxford at fifteen!" Sydney said, looking a little sceptical.

"Yes I did, can I go now please?" He hated it when people didn't believe him; it brought to mind how upset he felt when Preston refused to believe he'd been assaulted and beaten at school.

"Yes, of course you can go, have a happy birthday, I'll see you tomorrow" she said, noticing the hurt look on his face.

She was astounded; she didn't know what to believe! She considered that the best thing to do was telephone George Bally, as Nigel suggested, hoping he could clear up the confusion; as he'd recommended him to her in the first place. Sydney closed her office door, to ensure she had complete privacy, and called England, even though it was quite late at night there.

"Hi Bally, it's Sydney"

"Hello Sydney, how are you and how's Nigel doing? I bet he's made his mark already, clever boy that he is!"

"Actually it's Nigel I'm ringing about, how well do you know him?" she asked.

"Quite well actually, he lived with Alice and me at Oxford for five years, from when he was fifteen until he graduated a little while ago. He was not much more than a child when he moved in with us, far too young to live with the other students on campus, so Alice and I became his "guardians"."

"So he did go to university at age fifteen!" she said, very shocked and surprised.

"Yes, he did, gosh he was so tiny; you'd have thought he was about twelve! You know he's got five degrees and can speak many languages; don't you? He can read hieroglyphics and other kinds of ancient writing and he attended lectures on biology, geology and geography, quite apart from his degree courses. He's an absolute genius, Sydney, and he's got a photographic memory, although that seems to falter a little now he's grown up, but he still remembers thousands of facts and figures! Sorry to brag, it's just that I've never known anyone like him, and I feel like he's my son. I expect you already know all that though, you must have read his CV. I hope nothing's wrong Sydney, Nigel's not sick or in any trouble is he?" George asked thinking, I hope not!

"No, he's fine, he's not in any trouble, I was just confused about how he could've gotten so many qualifications at such a young age" she said thinking, oh dear I was really wrong about him.

"As I said Sydney; he's a genius and he's also very shy, sensitive and rather innocent; probably because Alice and I were a bit overprotective."

"Thanks Bally, Nigel told me earlier it's his twenty first birthday today so I'd better get out and buy him something" she said, thinking I hope he's not too upset.

"Yes I know; Alice and I have sent him a card and a gift. I wish he was here with us today; we'd have thrown him an enormous party, although he probably wouldn't have wanted one. I'd imagine you'll see that he enjoys himself Sydney, he deserves a bit of fun in his life. Anyway, I'd better go now, I'll speak to you soon; I'm expecting a call from him any minute." George said, realising how much he was missing Nigel.

"Nice to talk to you Bally; bye" she said rather quietly.

Sydney was now really worried about Nigel, as even George thought he was sensitive. Wanting to make amends she decided to purchase a birthday card and present, take it to his apartment and check he wasn't fretting over what she'd said. She chose a fun 21st birthday card and bought a "Sorry" card at the same time. She then purchased a really nice blue cashmere sweater, which she had gift wrapped. It was very expensive, but she now realised he was worth it! She guessed his size, but thought he could exchange it if it didn't fit.

She took about thirty minutes to purchase the items and then decided to ring Claudia to tell her it was Nigel's birthday, hoping she would want to come with her to his apartment. Claudia screamed "it's his twenty first and I didn't know! I'm on a date at the minute Syd, so I can't come with you but please wish him happy birthday from me. Oh would it be alright if I'm a few minutes late tomorrow? I want to buy him a present before I come to work."

"That'll be fine Claudia," she said, thinking I wish she could've come with me for moral support! She decided the next best thing would be to take a couple of bottles of wine with her, hoping that would put them both in a better frame of mind.

She arrived at Nigel's apartment and pressed the intercom button; feeling quite anxious about what he'd say. He took a minute to respond but then said "who is it?"

"It's Sydney, can I come up please?"

"Oh, I, I'm on the telephone, um, just come up, I'll leave the door open for you" he said thinking; what have I done now!

Sydney arrived at his door a couple of minutes later, just as he was saying goodbye to someone on the phone. "Hi Nigel, I bought you a card and gift for your birthday, I hope you like them" she said looking at his face to see his reaction. He looked really surprised! She handed them over and then gave him the other card and said "that's to say how sorry I am for not completely believing you earlier." He put the present and birthday card on the table, opened the "sorry" card and read it. Giving her a nice smile he said "thanks Syd, I'll put it with my birthday cards." His cards were all neatly lined up on the shelf and she noticed one looked like it came from a girl. "Who's that one from Nigel?" she asked, pointing at a cute card with a picture of Winnie the Pooh on it and 21 written by hand.

"Um just a girl I knew in England" he said, not wanting to say too much, as it had come from Amanda, who'd given it to Louisa to put with the birthday package she was sending to him.

There was a sudden silence and neither of them knew what to say so, feeling the need to explain her earlier actions Sydney said "Nigel, I really do want you to realise how genuinely sorry I am about what I said. George Bally confirmed that everything you said was true, although you have to admit, it's unusual; you're way ahead of most guys of your age!" She was really hoping he'd understand why she'd disbelieved him previously and said gently; "please forgive me."

"Uncle George just told me he'd spoken to you about my time at Oxford and I guessed why. I suppose it is unusual for someone of my age to have five degrees" he said, with a little smile appearing on his face. "Of course I forgive you! I certainly won't hold it against you Syd; especially since you could break every bone in my body with one kick!" They both laughed and she hugged him, which made him blush but totally cleared the air.

Nigel opened the birthday card she'd given him and said "thanks, please sit down Syd; can I get you anything?"

"Oh no I'm fine Nigel, open your present, I want to see if it fits!" He tore off the paper and held up the sweater saying "It's great Syd; I'll go and try it on." As he left the living room Sydney thought, my goodness; he really is shy about his body, although she'd noticed that in Nepal! He came back in wearing the sweater, which fitted perfectly and made him look absolutely adorable!

"Thanks, you really shouldn't have bothered but it's just perfect!" he said, with a big smile on his face, thinking it was just the style he'd have bought for himself.

"So what else did you get for your birthday Nigel?" she asked.

"Oh I got some silk pyjamas from Nanny Wright" he said, smiling and looking quite embarrassed "I told you about her earlier, three Armani shirts from my brother; and some beautiful first edition books on Egypt from Uncle George and Aunty Alice. My Uncle Fredrick, who is Nanny Wright's brother, gave me a book of poetry that I loved when I was a little boy. I was only eight when I saw it first, so I couldn't afford to buy it, but I remember telling him I would when I grow up; he must have remembered!" he said. "These are the only people who know I'm here." He didn't tell Sydney that Preston had to put his gifts in with Nanny Wright's because he didn't actually know where he was.

They spent a lovely evening together with Sydney doing most of the talking about the relic hunts she'd been on, past boyfriends and the college. Nigel didn't say too much about himself, feeling he wasn't that interesting. He sat on the floor, wearing his new sweater, looking wide eyed and hanging on her every word.

She apologised to him for talking so much and asked "have you got another apartment to go to yet?"

"Syd we've been in Nepal, I haven't had time to look! Actually, I really want to keep this place a little longer so I asked Fred downstairs, the day before I started at Trinity, if I could do that. He said that as there's a vacant apartment on the third floor, the college could use that, if necessary. Fred checked with the college and they had no objections, as long as I pay the rent, so I can stay a bit longer."

"That's good news Nigel, but how can you afford it on your salary?" she asked.

"I'm quite careful with money Syd; my salary will be enough." He didn't tell her that he had an allowance paid into his bank on the first day of each month, and that now he was twenty one he'd get an increase. He was completely oblivious to the fact that Mr Middleton, the family lawyer, had just put a huge amount of money into his bank account that very day! He thought to himself he'd better ring the bank tomorrow to see how much extra he'd got.

As the evening progressed Sydney drank more than a bottle of wine, and noticed that Nigel; who had barely drank two glasses, got tipsy really quickly.

"I think I'd better go home and you'd better get to bed Nigel, I don't want to have to carry you there if I can help it!" she said, laughing at him a little. He said goodbye to her and made his way, rather unsteadily, to his bed where he slept the whole night through, relatively peacefully, which was quite unusual for him.

The next morning he woke up with a splitting headache, but after taking a couple of aspirins he felt a little better, although he wished he could have had a couple more hours sleep! He arrived at work, hoping he'd have an easy day, and went in to see Sydney. He was surprised to see her sat at her desk looking like she'd just come back from a restful holiday! "Good morning Syd; how's your head?" he asked.

"It's fine Nigel; how's yours?" she replied.

"My headache's almost gone now but I'm feeling a bit tired, I'll be fine in a little while" he said, wishing he could go back to bed."

Claudia came into the office fifteen minutes late, as arranged with Sydney and walked sexily over to Nigel, who was sat at his desk. She leaned over him seductively, causing him to lean backwards and blush. Lucky for her, he couldn't get far enough away to prevent her from planting a big kiss hard on his lips; which made him feel a bit panicky. She gave him the birthday card and gifts she'd just purchased, which was a tee shirt and a bottle of aftershave lotion. The tee shirt had a picture of some strange singer she liked on it, although Nigel had no idea who it was, but he really liked the aftershave. He gave her one of his special smiles and said "thank you Claudia that's very thoughtful of you."

"That's alright honey bun, but you should have told me yesterday it was your twenty first birthday, I'd have made sure you had a good time."

"I did have a good time Claudia, I spoke to some very special people on the telephone and Sydney came round and we had a nice evening together" he said, thinking, I bet she thinks that's boring. She kept it to herself what she actually thought, which was; Sydney is going for them younger than ever these days!

When Claudia eventually went over to her own desk to start work, Nigel rang his bank to check his account. To his astonishment he was told he'd had £985,000 deposited into it yesterday! The bank manager, who knew Mr Middleton very well, explained to Nigel that his mother had left him £850,000 when she died nine years ago and that it had been wisely invested for him! Nigel was very pleased but he thought; I'd rather have my mum back.

A few days later he was sitting in the gardens of Trinity reading his book, feeling a bit low, when Sydney came out and asked "Nigel, when did you last have a date?"

"Relatively recently, well this year I'm sure" he said, not feeling ready to talk to her about Sherry just yet.

Sydney shook her head and said, "Nigel, see that girl sitting alone over there" she pointed to a pretty girl sitting on the grass "she's been staring at you for a while now."

He replied "I hadn't really noticed" although he had, of course, it was just that he was too shy to do anything about it.

"I know" she said, realising what the problem was "but you've got to be aware of what's out there Nigel, women have been sending signals since it all began. When they're playing sexual semaphore you've got to know how to read the flags."

"The flags?" he asked, not really sure what she meant.

Just at that moment a man called Aron Tager came over and told them a story about his grandfather who'd, many years ago, been framed for murder by the gangster, Al Capone. He asked Sydney if she'd try to find Capone's diamond studded gun, which was the murder weapon. The man believed, if she could find the gun; it could prove his grandfather's innocence. Sydney was very dubious at first, and was not even convinced the gun even existed, however, he was very persuasive and she eventually agreed. Nigel did some research on the subject, which brought back memories of his father and the times they'd spent together watching gangster movies. He felt a little teary eyed but shook it off realising he needed to get the job done. Having gathered up enough information he gave the research to Sydney and they started their journey to Chicago.

When they got there they checked into the Hotel Roxbury, which had been frequented by Al Capone and his gangster friends back in the 1920s/1930s. It was at this hotel that Sydney believed the gun must be hidden. Nigel was thrilled to actually be at the hotel he'd read about as a child, but he was also worried that as there was a big convention at the hotel, Sydney was only able to get one room! He was so taken aback when he realised there was only one big double bed in the room his heart almost came into his mouth! When Sydney stated, in a matter of fact way "I'll take the left" he began to panic even more and decided to escape downstairs. Looking around the gift shop he met a lovely girl called Lori, who was an eighth grade history teacher. He nervously talked to her and they hit it off straight away, Nigel realising that Lori was almost as shy as him!

That evening Lori invited Nigel to her room for a nightcap and one thing led to another and he ended up staying the night. She soon realised that Nigel wasn't the sexually experienced young man she'd believed him to be; bearing in mind he was so good looking. He acted really shy, keeping the sheet over the top of them while they made love. She thought he was wonderful and Nigel felt the same about her!

On this dangerous hunt they eventually found the gun and gave it to the police, explaining the story that Mr Tager had told them, which they hoped would eventually put right the injustice.

Nigel had to say goodbye to Lori and felt quite upset, although he knew they'd keep in touch one way or another. They kissed passionately before they parted and he wished he'd had the opportunity to have some proper dates with her.

On the way back to Trinity Sydney asked him about Lori and he said "I think I read the flags right with her, she was such a nice girl. I wish we could have stayed in Chicago a little while longer though, I would have liked to have seen more of her."

"I think you saw enough of her last night Nigel!" Sydney laughed, and continued "Nigel, it's not really a good idea to get too involved with girls when we're hunting relics, although I completely understand about Lori, I liked her too. I just don't want to see you hurting when we have to leave."

"I know Syd, you're right, of course" he said, thinking I wonder when I'm ever going to get the chance to have more than the odd date with a girl, if I'm constantly taken on hunts!

They'd only been back at Trinity for about two weeks when Sydney decided to go on a relic hunt on her own, which pleased Nigel! She found the relic, which was a beautiful crown, but it was stolen from her while she was piloting a plane back home. She fought with the thief, who fired his gun, hitting the controls of the plane, causing it to crash! The thief parachuted out of the plane to safety but poor Sydney was left in it! Luckily, she wasn't too badly hurt and was rescued by some nuns who, on discovering she was the world famous relic hunter, asked her to try and find the body of Sister Evangeline, a nun whose head was decapitated in the 1600s. Her head was buried under a statue in the convent gardens and the nun's greatest wish was to bury the body there too.

Sydney telephoned Nigel and asked him to join her, realising he could be of great assistance to her. He made his way there and eventually, after overcoming some extreme dangers, they found the remains of Sister Evangeline. The nuns were overjoyed and buried them under the statue with her head.

Nigel, being in such a spiritual place, and having come close to death on this, and other relic hunts, had been thinking about life in general and the big question "why are we here?" He felt extremely unsettled, because of the risks he constantly faced, and wondered if there really was a God who was watching over him; or if he was completely reliant upon Sydney! He thought about his family and friends, wondering how they would react if they knew he was doing such a dangerous job. He desperately needed some guidance and advice, as he felt unsure if he should continue relic hunting, even though he loved the hunt itself. He firstly spoke to the nuns about how he felt and they suggested that, although it might seem a little extreme, he should visit a silent order of monks who lived in a monastery high in the Pyrenean Mountains, in Spain. He discussed it with Sydney who felt that because of his frame of mind he needed time off work to think; hoping that the calm atmosphere of a monastery would help him with that. She worried, however, that her brilliant assistant and wonderful young friend might consider leaving her. Of course, she realised that he needed her support and understanding and that she would have to accept his decision, hoping her worst fear, about losing him, would not materialise.

While he was at the monastery he thought about his parents and the monks helped him realise that just because God took them, it didn't mean he didn't love him or them. The monks did their very best to help Nigel on his spiritual journey, as much as they could, bearing in mind this was a silent order.

He thought about Amanda, Sherry and Lori and the fact that he'd now slept with two women, neither of which he was married to. He remembered Aunty Alice and Uncle George explaining that it was sinful to have sex before marriage, and the downfalls of having sex too young. However, although he had great respect for them and loved them very much, he now realised that sex was just a natural part of growing up, and was generally considered acceptable behaviour between consenting adults.

His mind then turned to Sydney, who he knew had had many sexual relationships, which initially shocked him, never having come across a woman like her before, even in his books! He now realised that those relationships didn't make her bad; in fact, just the opposite, as he considered she was a wonderful person, someone who would always watch his back and try to protect him at all costs, although he did wonder what she'd do to him if he ever disobeyed her!

He thought about his brother and what he might say when they spoke again. He was still very upset and confused about the things Preston had done to him, especially when he was a teenager, and thought really hard about why he was so strict, however, try as he might, he could make little sense of it. He remembered how loving his big brother could be towards him too, recalling how he held him, and let him sleep in his bed, just after they'd heard the tragic news about their parent's death. He also remembered other instances, when he was a child when Preston protected him, or was kind. Even when he punished him quite severely, as a teenager, he always hugged him once he'd calmed down. He came to the conclusion that, deep down; Preston wasn't evil, but he must have some sort of personality defect that made him do inappropriate things, and fly into a range really quickly. He thought about what his nana had said about Preston missing him, although he wasn't missing Preston! He realised that the only way he would ever get to the bottom of the matter was to talk to him, although he knew he wasn't ready to do that just yet!

He thought about himself and eventually came to terms with the fact that he was very shy, naïve and fairly short, realising that these things were normal and not everyone should be the same. He believed that as he matured and got to know the ways of the world a little better he would gain confidence and his height would not matter.

When he left the monastery he felt so much better about himself, although he knew he'd always have concerns about his personal safety when relic hunting; realising that even Sydney, as remarkable and strong as she was, couldn't protect him at every moment. He was, however, far more ready than before to face death, if he had to; having listened to what the monks, with permission to speak, had explained to him. Of course, he was only twenty one, so he, obviously, hoped he would live for a very long time! His visit to Spain made him feel more relaxed than he'd been in quite a while and as he boarded the plane he was looking forward to seeing Sydney again.

Sydney was overjoyed when he came back to work; having gone through his spiritual journey unscathed. She hugged him, said she'd missed him terribly and within days took him to search for the lost Flag of California! Once they found the flag, they took a trip to Germany to find Elvis Presley's guitar. Both of these hunts were filled with danger but they were also very successful and Nigel did his best to remember what he'd learned at the monastery, which was easier said than done!

A month after getting back from Germany Sydney had a visit from a baseball player called Frank Newhouse who wanted Sydney to search for the baseball glove of Jimmy Jonesboro, a famous baseball player from the past. Frank had been playing rather poorly of late and his career was waning, so believing the glove had "magical powers" he considered that using it would improve his game. The glove had apparently helped Jimmy's career early on, until it was stolen, forty years ago; after that his career came to an end. Sydney reluctantly agreed to try and find the glove, bearing in mind Frank had promised to make a huge donation to the Ancient Studies Department ..... if he made the All Stars Team!

Just before they left for Boston, where the glove was probably hidden, Nigel received a call from Amanda, which was the first time he'd spoken to her since he'd left England. Amanda had asked Louisa for his number after she'd revealed that Nigel's job involved looking for relics from the past that were often very valuable; but she didn't elaborate.

Nigel chatted to Amanda about old times for a few minutes and then she suddenly said; sounding slightly miffed "I sent you a birthday card but you didn't call me, or write!"

"No, I'm sorry; I've been rather busy with my job" he replied, thinking I didn't think she'd want me to call her.

"Oh, I see, so tell me about your job" she said, not mentioning that Louisa had already told her something of what he did.

"I hunt for lost relics" he said, going into some detail about what he and Sydney had found; adding, quite innocently "some of those things were worth millions of pounds!" Amanda listened carefully, wished him good luck and then suddenly asked if he'd like to talk to Tony, who'd been stood by her side the whole time. She told him that Tony was visiting her, and still lived near Oxford, but the truth was, she was living with him in a large house in London, which they shared with a rather unscrupulous couple of men! Nigel agreed to speak to him but, unfortunately, all he did was brag about his brilliant career, his wonderful business ventures all over the world, and how much money he'd made. Nigel, not wanting to appear a failure, told him that he was an Ancient History Professor and that he had an assistant called Sydney! Luckily, he hadn't told Amanda that he was Sydney's teaching assistant! He just couldn't stop himself, as he recalled what Tony had said to him when they were at Oxford together about him ending up being someone's slave in a dead end job! Nigel thought it would be alright, on this occasion, to tell a white lie, as Tony was so obnoxious and he really believed he'd be a professor one day. Of course, he didn't personally think his position at Trinity was a dead end job but he thought Tony might!

He then told Tony that he and Sydney were going to Boston the next day to look for a baseball glove that would probably be worth a fortune.

"Oh really, what hotel are you staying at?" Tony asked.

"The Royal Crown" he replied.

"Oh, nice hotel, have a good hunt Nigel, I have to go now, bye" Tony said hurriedly. Nigel was glad he'd cut it short as really disliked speaking to him.

Unfortunately, the day after Sydney and Nigel arrived at that hotel they were getting their room keys when who should walk into reception, but Tony!

"Professor!" he said, as he saw Nigel standing by the front desk.

Nigel looked at Tony with a shocked expression on his face and asked "what are you doing here!"

"I'm here on business" he said and acted like they'd not spoken in ages. Nigel didn't ask him why he hadn't said he was coming to Boston, as Sydney was watching them, and she'd heard Tony call him professor! Tony then insisted on having dinner with him and his assistant that evening, although Nigel tried to get out of it, realising he'd have to keep up the pretence of being a professor! The worst thing now was how to explain to Sydney why he'd told his "friend" she was his assistant!

When Nigel confessed to Sydney what he'd said she was livid and he was absolutely petrified about what she'd do to him. He tried to explain why he'd said those things, but she just gave him a look that appeared to say "you're going to pay for this!" She calmly walked over to the lift, pressed the bell, grabbed hold of him and shoved him in it. She was silent in the lift but he was shaking with fear and kept saying "I'm sorry Syd, I really am, please don't hurt me, please!" When they reached their floor she pushed him out of the lift, marched him to his room, made him open the door and practically threw him inside. He recovered from the push and looked at her with fear in his eyes as she wagged her finger at him and shouted "don't you ever do anything like that again Nigel! There's absolutely nothing wrong with being a teaching assistant!" He was practically in tears, terrified in case she hit him. Sydney then suddenly realised just how frightened he really was and felt slightly ashamed of herself for scaring him like that as, in reality, she'd never seriously hurt him. She might have given him a quick slap across his backside, or taken him by the shoulders and shaken him, if he stupidly put himself in danger, but she definitely wouldn't, under normal circumstances, kick or punch him. She looked at him and gently said "I guess I understand why you said it Nigel, but if you promise never to do anything like that again, I'll do my best to play along tonight at dinner, alright?" She realised her young assistant hadn't lied out of any malicious intent and her heart went out to him when she saw him looking so frightened and vulnerable.

"Oh thank you Syd, thank you" he said, letting out a sigh of relief; feeling lucky she hadn't beaten him to a pulp!

That night Nigel got completely drunk while they had dinner with Tony. He'd only had a relatively small amount of alcohol but it was too much for him and Sydney had to practically carry him to bed! Unfortunately, he'd lost his room key so he had to sleep on the sofa in Sydney's suite; where she undressed him, leaving him in his underwear. While she was undressing him, he opened his sleepy eyes and saw her leaning over him, exposing her cleavage and pulling off his trousers! This was just too much for him and he fainted in shock!

During the night, while Nigel slept soundly, someone broke into Sydney's suite. She fought with the intruder; but he got away. When Nigel awoke the following morning and saw the state of the room he believed he must have caused the damage when he was drunk! He also thought, remembering Sydney leaning over him the previous night; that he'd acted improperly towards her which, of course, he hadn't, but all he could remember was her breasts!

As it turned out the intruder was Tony, who'd specifically flown to Boston to try and steal the baseball glove, should Sydney and Nigel find it. When they did, he attacked them, tied them up and confessed to Nigel that he was broke, having made some dodgy investments. Nigel in turn told Tony that he'd deceived him too and hoped that Sydney wouldn't think he was anything like Tony because of the lie! Just before Tony made his escape he said to Nigel "give my love to your mum!" and ran; obviously, still under the impression that Alice Bally was Nigel's mother.

They almost immediately freed themselves from the ropes and Sydney chased after Tony, who ran through Fenway Park Stadium, where she threw a baseball at him, hit him on the head and later handed him over to the police.

The pair of them then took the glove back to Jimmy's trailer, where Frank had been staying while they hunted for it. Frank had gained a lot of respect for the older gentleman and wanted him to have his glove back, realising that it actually had no magical powers at all and that Jimmy was the one who should keep it. Jimmy was so thrilled to see his glove again after all those years.

When they got back from Boston they managed to stay at Trinity for about six weeks before the next relic hunt began. Sydney was contacted by an Agent who said he was Derek Lloyd - USGI, Government Intelligence; Section Nine. Derek wasn't taking "no" for an answer when he asked her to look for the Paracelsus Scrolls, or one scroll to be exact, as he'd already got the other one. These scrolls apparently contained the formula for turning base metals into gold; however, both scrolls were needed to reveal the full formula. Derek only wanted Sydney to help him, but she refused to go without Nigel, who wouldn't have minded one bit staying behind, but she wouldn't budge without him!

Derek knew roughly where the second scroll was hidden, which happened to be in Peru. They eventually found it but realising it wasn't safe to let something as powerful as the scrolls get into the hands of any government, Sydney kept one scroll while Derek kept the other!

**PLEASE REVIEW – I would like to hear from you if you are enjoying the story as that will encourage me to put up the next chapter! **

**In the next chapter find out what happened when they came back from Peru. Learn the shocking truth about Clive Green, the teacher who assaulted Nigel. Preston tells Nigel the truth about why he left him at boarding school for so long and Sydney discovers Nigel's secret!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

**Surprising Events**

About four days after they returned from Peru Nigel telephoned the office, on a Monday morning, and spoke to Claudia, saying in a rather croaky voice "I'm not feeling well, I have a bit of a temperature and sore throat; I think I'll go back to bed, I'll probably be better in a day or two." He'd actually been feeling unwell since they got back from Peru but had said nothing to anyone before this.

When he'd not returned to work by Friday, or telephoned the office again, Sydney began to worry and phoned his apartment, several times. Having got no reply at all she decided she'd visit him to check he was alright; bearing in mind he lived alone.

She arrived at Nigel's building and rang the bell for his apartment several times, but got no response. Luckily Fred, the doorman, recognised her and on seeing the anxious expression on her face asked if he could be of any assistance. She explained the problem and Fred took her up to Nigel's apartment, realising he'd not seen him for days either!

When they got there Sydney knocked on the door several times, but there was no answer. Her instinct was to kick it in but then had second thoughts realising that Fred, who was stood by her side, had a key! Of course, he knew her quite well so he had no problem letting her in. They gingerly entered the apartment, called out for Nigel but got no response. Thinking he may just be asleep they made their way to the bedroom where, to their horror, they found him lying in his bed, soaked to the skin, looking really sick!

Her initial thought was to call a doctor, but then, feeling guilty for not checking on him sooner, she decided to look after him herself. "Thanks for your help Fred; I'll take it from here" she said; smiling, but obviously worried.

Fred nodded and said "let me know if you need anything professor" and left thinking; thank goodness she came when she did!

She gently slapped Nigel's face to see if he'd respond, but all he did was make a slight groaning sound. Feeling she just had to help him she soaked a small towel in some cold water and gently wiped his face, pushing back his hair and feeling his brow at the same time. He definitely had a high temperature and his skin looked almost yellow; there was also vomit on the floor where, obviously, he was too ill to clean it up.

Realising he must be dehydrated she got a glass of water and managed to get a few sips inside him. She thought the next thing he needed was a wash; as it was pretty obvious from the odour, he'd been in bed for days! She got some warm soapy water and a sponge and gently washed and dried his neck and chest; then she carefully turned him over and washed his back. She thought he looked a little better but had he been anyone else she'd have washed his bottom half too! However, bearing in mind how shy Nigel was, she knew he'd be mortified at the thought of his female employer washing him so intimately; so she decided against it.

Feeling she could do nothing more for a while she used the rest of the soapy water to clean up the vomit; thinking how awful Nigel must have been feeling, and how ill he still must be.

She sat by his bed all night; forcing him drink every now and again and wiping away the sweat. He had some awful nightmares and kept calling out "mummy! daddy!" and "let go!" he also screamed "stop, stop; please stop!" She hated seeing him like that; he'd had nightmares on several occasions when they'd shared a room or tent. However, not wishing to embarrass him, she rarely mentioned it, although when she did; because he was screaming, he just said it was nothing to worry about and apologised for disturbing her. Sydney thought Nigel should really do something about the bad dreams and wondered what it was that made her young assistant so prone to them.

By the following morning she was absolutely exhausted but luckily, as it was Saturday, she had no classes. She called Claudia, who'd also been worried about Nigel, explaining how she'd found him in a terrible state and nursed him through the night. Claudia was shocked and said "oh, poor little honey bun, tell him to get better soon."

Realising she'd been neglecting herself while she'd been nursing Nigel; she got some juice from the kitchen, drank a full glass and took some into the bedroom; hoping Nigel would drink it later. She put her hand on his brow and he definitely felt much cooler so she took the opportunity to have a quick shower and get something to eat. As she'd no spare clothes with her she borrowed one of Nigel's tee shirts and noticed, when she looked for it, that Nigel had some new clothes from Banana Republic. By the style of the clothing it appeared they'd been bought specifically for relic hunting, as she considered they'd be perfect for that.

She went back over to the bed and thought Nigel looked so sweet just lying there; like a little boy. She stroked his head and attempted to pull the duvet over him a bit more. Suddenly he stirred; looked quite startled and croaked "Sydney!" He started to cough and looked around the room trying to work out where he was.

"Hold still Nigel; let me get you a drink" she said, as she grabbed the juice that she'd put there earlier and helped him drink a little.

"Syd, how long have you been here?" he said, with a rather sleepy look on his face; realising he was in his own bedroom.

"Only since yesterday, how do you feel" she said, thinking he looked a little healthier, although his colour was still odd.

"Oh better than I was, but I'm still aching all over" he said, thinking I've never been as ill as this before.

"Do you think you'll be able to eat something?" she asked, hoping he would say yes.

"Oh no, I couldn't" he said pulling a face like he might be sick.

"What about a bath? I don't think you'll be strong enough to stand in the shower" she said, thinking he looked so fragile.

Nigel looked at Sydney and said "I don't think I have the strength to walk to the bathroom just yet."

"Don't worry Nigel, I'll carry you there; I'll run the bath and while you have a nice soak I'll change your bed and you'll feel so much better, OK?" she said, looking at him and thinking, you're having a bath young man whether you like it or not!

"I, I um, don't think you should carry me Syd, you might hurt your back, can you just hold me up; I think I can manage then" he said.

"We'll see" she replied, as she left and went into the bathroom. She ran the water, poured in lots of bubble bath and got a large fluffy white bath towel ready for him. She then went back to Nigel's bedroom and noticed he looked really worried.

"Right then Nigel; let's get you out of that bed and into a nice hot bath" she said, and without giving him the choice of trying to walk, she picked him! She was quite shocked at how light he was, as she carried him to the bathroom, where she sat him on the toilet for a moment and said "right, take off your underwear and I'll help you into the bath."

He blushed and said "what!"

"Take them off Nigel, I won't look!" she said passing him a towel and looking away. He removed his underwear and immediately wrapped the towel around his waist; waiting to see what she'd do next. She picked him up the same way as before, sat him on the edge of the bath and lowered him into the bath, allowing him to keep the towel around him even in the water. He led down immediately, so the bubbles would cover him and hoped that the hot water would relieve his aches and pains. He then loosened the towel just a little, but stayed sat on it!

"I'm going to change your bed now Nigel, call me when you're ready" she said.

She went back to the bedroom, opened the window to air the room and stripped the bed. She found some clean bedding, turned over the mattress and remade the bed; leaving the duvet folded back to make it easier to put Nigel back in it.

Suddenly the telephone rang; obviously Nigel couldn't answer it so she thought she'd better.

"Hello Nigel Bailey's apartment, can I help you?" she said.

"Who's that?" an English sounding female asked at the other end of the phone.

"This is Sydney Fox, who's that?"

"Oh hello Professor Fox, this is Louisa Wright, I'm Nigel's nanny, is he there please?"

"Yes he is but he's in the bath at the moment, he's not been too well so I'm taking care of him" she said.

"Oh my goodness what's the matter with him!" Louisa asked with great concern.

"He's just got the flu, I think, Mrs Wright, he's getting much better now though, so don't worry" she said, trying to reassure her.

"Has he seen a doctor?" Louisa enquired.

"I only got here yesterday but I don't think so; obviously, if he gets any worse, or doesn't improve, I'll call a doctor, please try not to fret" Sydney said.

"Professor, I can't help but worry, he's so far away, please ask him to call me as soon as he can, and thank you for taking care of him" Louisa said, trying not to sound as anxious as she felt.

"I totally understand how you feel, I'd feel the same in your position but honestly, he's going to be fine. I'll get him to ring you later on today or tomorrow, bye." She put down the telephone and thought how lovely Louisa sounded.

Feeling rather thirsty she went into the kitchen to prepare some hot drinks for her and Nigel. She chose a selection of cookies which she hoped Nigel would eat after his bath and took them to the bedroom.

"Are you ready to get out yet Nigel?" she called, in a slightly raised voice.

"Um, I just want to soak a bit more, is that OK?" he said, thinking he wasn't sure how he was going to get out of the bath without Sydney's help and, of course, he was naked!

"That's fine Nigel; I've made you some tea though so don't be too much longer or it'll get cold. I'll drink my coffee and get you out of there in a few minutes, OK?" she said, not one bit embarrassed about the thought of getting her young assistant out of the bath.

"Alright Syd, thanks" he replied, still thinking of his predicament.

She drank her coffee, then went back to the bathroom and knocked on the door saying "can I come in now Nigel?"

"Alright, come in" he said, praying that she would find a way to protect his modesty.

As she entered the bathroom she looked at Nigel, put her hands on her hips and said "Nigel, did you wash your hair?"

"Um, no I didn't think to do it Syd" he said, wondering what she'd do now.

"Right" she said and with that she picked up the shampoo and washed it for him, pouring several beakers of clean warm water over his head to rinse away the suds. He was very embarrassed, but grateful too, as he felt so much better.

Sydney had considered how she'd get him out of the bath without embarrassing him further. She told him to pull out the towel he was sitting on and place it over his lap, which he did. She then told him to sit up straight and hold the towel on his lap. Taking the longer edge of a large bath towel she put it under the back of Nigel's arms and lifted him out of the bath; allowing the towel to drop behind him covering his lower back and bottom. Sitting him on the edge of the bath he pulled the towel completely around himself, dropped the wet towel back in the bath, and she carried him back to bed.

"Dry yourself properly Nigel, put on that pair of clean underwear and when you're done, call me" she said as she left the bedroom to give him some privacy. Five minutes later he called her back in and she dried his hair for him.

She thought he looked so sweet, now he was all clean and fresh; but he also looked really thin. She handed him his tea and hoped he'd eat some cookies; he didn't, although he promised he'd try a bit later.

"Oh by the way Nigel, your nanny called while you were in the bath, she wants you to call her as soon as possible. She was very worried about you so perhaps you should call her now, if you're up to it" Sydney said.

He checked the time and said "I'd better call her or she'll worry until I do." He picked up the phone, hoping that that Preston wouldn't be there; it rang for a couple of seconds and Louisa answered.

"Hi nana, it's me, Sydney said you rang earlier, how are you? Is everything OK?"

"Oh sweetheart never mind me; are you alright?" she said, feeling so relieved to hear his voice.

"Yes nana, I'm getting better, Sydney looked after me; I'll be back at work on Monday. Don't keep worrying about me, I can look after myself; well most of the time anyway. Did you ring for anything in particular? Or were you just checking I'm behaving myself?" he smiled and waited for her reply.

"Actually sweetheart I was ringing to ask if you're ready to let Preston know where you are. He's concerned about you and I know he's sorry for what he did, I'm really worried about him now; he's been so depressed since you left. Will you ring him, or can I tell him to ring you? Nigel, please say you'll speak to him" she said feeling quite desperate.

"Nana you can tell him where I am and give him my number; I'll ring him in a day or two, I'm still angry with him though, I just can't help it!" He wasn't sure what he was going to say to his brother, even though he'd thought hard about it when he was in Spain with the monks.

"Oh that's so good to hear sweetie, I'll tell him to wait for your call and I'll give him a lecture about not upsetting you! Bye bye darling, I love you" she said feeling so much better now that that conversation was out of the way.

"Bye nana, I love you too" he said, putting down the phone; noticing Sydney had left the room.

He began to cough and called out "Syd, where are you?"

She ran back to the bedroom "Is everything OK Nigel!" she said with genuine concern, passing him the last of the juice.

"Yes Syd, everything's fine" he said, as he sipped the juice "she just wanted to ask me to do something" he said, hoping Sydney wouldn't ask any questions. "I need to go to sleep Syd" he said lying back down and closing his eyes immediately.

Sydney put her hand on his forehead as she noticed he was perspiring again and he felt very warm.

"Nigel I want you to see a doctor, your temperature's going up again! My doctor's a really nice guy and a good friend of mine; he still makes house calls so I'm going to call him" she said, quite seriously.

"No! I'm fine, it's just the flu; I hate seeing doctors, they always make me nervous! Please!" he said with a pleading look on his face; suddenly feeling more awake but coughing again.

"Sorry Nigel, I promised your nanny that I'd look after you and I've done all I can but I think you need some antibiotics or something. I thought your temperature was going down but it's back up now, plus you're not eating, so something has to be done!"

She went back into the living room and called Doctor Baines saying "Hey John; its Sydney, are you able to come out to see Nigel, my young British teaching assistant? She explained the symptoms and said "I'm getting really worried; I should probably have called you earlier; would you mind please John?"

"That should be no problem, what's his address? I'll be there as soon as I can" the doctor said.

Sydney gave him Nigel's address and then said "You know while you're at it, could you bring those vaccinations with you that I'm due to have next week? It'll save me so much time." Just as she'd finished saying that a sudden shock went through her body as she realised she'd no idea if Nigel had been vaccinated before he came to America! She'd taken him to Nepal on his first relic hunt immediately he'd started at Trinity and he'd been on several hunts since then, although, luckily, only one to anywhere exotic; and that was Peru! They'd only been home about ten days and she now wondered if he'd picked up a bug or something there! She explained all that to the doctor and said "I feel really terrible now because I never thought to tell him he'd need to be vaccinated; when I think of the danger I may have inadvertently put him in! I should have looked after him better John, he's only a kid really! So, if he's not had any, would it be OK for you to vaccinate him too? I'd really appreciate it."

"Well, Syd, I can certainly give you your shots, it would save me some time too. About Nigel though; I can give him something like aspirin and check that it is the flu, but regarding vaccinations, I really need to know if he has his own doctor first, as I won't be able to vaccinate him if he has. If he hasn't, he'd need to register with me; then I can inoculate him. So do you know? the doctor asked.

"No I don't actually" she replied.

"Right, could you please ask him that; and ask about vaccinations too" he said

"OK John, I'll ask him, hold on" she said, not actually wanting to as Nigel had already said he dislikes doctors; so this would probably make it worse! She gingerly walked into Nigel's bedroom and, trying not to alarm him, asked the questions.

He looked very worried and said "I haven't had time to find a doctor; it's been one relic hunt after another and um, no I haven't had any injections since I was twelve; why are you asking Syd?"

"Doctor Baines needs to know, he's coming out to see you and he's going to give me a couple of vaccinations while he's here. I have them every now and again so no matter where I travel, I'm protected. I asked if he'd mind giving you some too; as you'll need them, but he won't be able to unless you register with him. He's a great guy Nigel, he's not just a medical doctor; he's also a psychologist; although he doesn't practice as such. He might sort out those horrible nightmares for you; if you ask him" she said, hoping Nigel wouldn't be too upset.

Nigel had a look of horror on his face as he thought about the shots he'd have to endure. Sydney saw the look but ignored it and went back to speak to John, explaining what Nigel had said.

He replied "That's fine then, as long as he registers with me it'll be no problem; I'll bring a form with me. I'll have to give him an initial health check examination, as I do all my new patients if he registers, but as I said, I'll still be able to treat his flu symptoms even if he doesn't; I just have to have his permission. I'll bring the vaccinations too, in case he signs. I'll see you in about twenty minutes" the doctor said, thinking I hope it is just the flu he's got!

Half an hour later John Baines arrived at Nigel's apartment and Sydney let him in. He was about fifty eight years old, well over six foot tall, not strikingly handsome but he had a nice kind face. He greeted Sydney with a kiss on the cheek and said "where's your young assistant then? I'll go to see him straightaway."

"He's just down the hall in his bedroom, he's expecting you. Oh, John, before you see him I think I should just tell you, he's very shy and he's not very keen on doctors, so be gentle with him. He's nothing like other young men of his age; I think he may have had some unpleasant experiences when he was a child; I might be wrong, but he has terrible nightmares. He may not open up to you about those things but I just thought you should know; oh yes, he's actually a genius too" she said, pointing towards Nigel's bedroom door.

"Don't worry Syd, you know I'm a softy, he's in good hands!" he said, noticing her concern.

She smiled and said "yes I know."

He knocked on the bedroom door and just about heard Nigel say "come in." He opened it and then approached Nigel who pulled the duvet up to his neck, showing clearly how nervous he was.

"Hi Nigel, I'm Doctor John Baines, don't be scared, Sydney tells me you've been very sick, is it OK if I examine you?" he said very softly and smiled at him.

Nigel looked directly at the doctor and thought; oh my goodness, he looks just like my dad!... oh and a bit like Preston, and said "yes Sir, you can; I guess I have been quite ill but Sydney's been looking after me and she wants me to register with you; would that be alright Sir?"

The doctor was rather surprised and said "well of course you can Nigel, as long as you actually want to and not just because Sydney wants you to!"

"I do want to Sir; I'm just a bit nervous of doctors" Nigel said, feeling quite embarrassed.

"Nigel I can tell you're tense but you really don't need to be, however, the first thing I need to do, if you're sure you want to register with me; is give you a thorough examination. I know you may have the flu but I want to establish what your general state of health is like; most doctors do this with their new patients and its nothing to worry about. Since I'm going to examine you anyway, I may as well do the whole thing, as long as you don't mind; do you?" he asked, hoping Nigel would be sensible.

"No doctor, I guess that would be alright" he said quietly.

"That's good Nigel; it'll be over and done with then" the doctor said, handing him a form. "If you'd just complete and sign my form you'll officially be my patient." Nigel quickly filled it out, noted his allergy and added his former doctor's address to enable his notes to be obtained from England; he signed it and handed it back to the doctor.

Doctor Baines read it; noticed Nigel was allergic to horse hair and said "do you have any antihistamine pills with you when you go relic hunting?"

"No Sir, I hadn't thought about getting any, but I guess I should" he said, the doctor's comment bringing to mind the last time he'd needed the pills; when his brother put that hairy blanket under the cushion of his chair!

Doctor Baines saw the look on Nigel's face and said "are you alright, you looked very deep in thought there for a minute?"

"Yes Sir, I'm alright, can you start the examination please; I'm really tired" he said.

The doctor smiled and took his temperature, feeling Nigel's forehead at the same time. "You do appear to be a bit hot son, let's see" he said, as he checked the thermometer "that's not good!" The doctor felt under Nigel's chin to see if his glands were swollen and they were. He then got out his stethoscope to listen to Nigel's heart, which was beating slightly fast as he was nervous, but it wasn't too bad.

"What symptoms have you had son?" the doctor asked.

"Well I had a fever, a horrible headache and my arms, legs and back ached too; oh I vomited a lot as well and that was horrendous! I'm still aching, but I do feel much better than a few days ago, although I don't feel like eating" Nigel said, thinking I hope I've just got the flu.

"Sydney tells me you went to Peru a little while ago, so it's possible you have yellow fever, as you weren't vaccinated against that before you went! I've got some antibiotics in my bag which I decided to bring with me when Sydney told me where you'd been. I think the best thing you can do is take a course of those and some Paracetamol to bring your temperature down" the doctor said; feeling a little worried as he noticed the yellow tinge on Nigel's face.

"Right, now I'll give you the normal examination I give to all my new patients" Doctor Baines said as he began to examine Nigel. He advised him that he wanted to test for yellow fever and several other illnesses; which, unfortunately, would mean he'd need to take a fair amount of blood. Nigel felt very uneasy and a bit woozy as the needle was put in his arm, but at least it didn't hurt.

"Sydney told me you've had no vaccinations in recent years at all, is that right?" the doctor asked, thinking he really should have had some.

"Just a tetanus" he replied.

"You know there are some very nasty things you can pick up around the world and you really need to be vaccinated against them. Is it alright if I give you the shots I think you should have son?" the doctor asked.

"I guess so; I know I have to have them; will they hurt?" he asked, with a very anxious look on his face.

"Some will hurt a little but I'll be very careful. I won't give you the one for yellow fever, just in case that's what you've got; if you have, you'll be immune, so you won't need a vaccination; you only get it once, but it can be fatal!" the doctor said quite seriously. He suddenly noticed the expression of horror on Nigel's face and continued "even if you have got it you're already past the dangerous stage, so don't worry." He got the injections ready, lifted up Nigel's left arm and said "you're not left handed are you Nigel?"

"Yes Sir, I am actually" Nigel replied, looking quite scared.

"Well I'd better give you this one in your right arm, it might sting a bit, and your arm might ache tomorrow; but it won't be too bad" he said, lifting up Nigel's arm and giving him the injection.

"Ahh! That does hurt Sir!" Nigel moaned, screwing up his face in pain.

Doctor Baines let Nigel calm down a little before giving him a few more injections in both of his arms, plus one in his thigh; they all hurt a bit, but not as much as the first one. "Now Nigel this is the last one and it needs to go in your butt so please turn over and then you're all done" he said, feeling glad he'd nearly finished; realising Nigel was already rather sore.

Nigel was slightly taken aback at what the doctor said and replied "does it have to go in my backside Sir!"

"Sorry son, yes it does, just lie on your front; don't be shy" the doctor said, as Nigel reluctantly turned over on his bed.

"Lift your stomach a bit please" the doctor said, pulling down Nigel's underwear. He hesitated for a few seconds; then gave him the injection which caused Nigel to yell "Ouch!" As soon as the doctor had finished Nigel quickly pulled up his underwear, sat up on the bed and stared at the doctor.

Doctor Baines turned to Nigel, took hold of his shoulders and said very calmly "Nigel, were you abused by your father or mother?"

"What! No Sir! They died in a car accident when I was twelve" he said, not wanting to talk about that tragic time again.

"Oh that's awful, I'm so sorry to hear that, but if they didn't abuse you, who gave you such a brutal thrashing that you've been left with scars on your butt!"

Nigel looked up at Doctor Baines and said very quietly "I was beaten with a cane at boarding school a lot; those scars are from the last beating I received, when I was fifteen. Please don't tell Sydney, I'd be so embarrassed if she knew!"

"Nigel, son, everything you tell me is in the strictest confidence; I can assure you of that. Didn't whoever looked after you at the time do something about it?" he enquired, with a very serious look on his face.

"I didn't tell anyone about the beatings until the last one" he said, feeling very unsettled.

"Why ever not? If you were being beaten you should have sought help" the doctor said, seriously.

"I couldn't, it just wasn't done, none of the boys in the school, including me, wanted to be branded a telltale, nobody told the authorities or anyone else! Also my older brother, Preston and so called guardian, said if he heard I'd been punished at school, he'd punish me too, so it wasn't worth telling anyone, it would have made it worse! English children aren't like Americans" he said, thinking the doctor will think he's stupid.

"You should still have told someone the first time you were beaten Nigel, you shouldn't have put up with it, a spanking is fine, but a beating is completely different! It's also very unhealthy to keep things locked up inside; it's important to let your feelings out. So what happened when you told, I assume, your brother about that last beating? Did the school get investigated?" the doctor enquired.

"Nothing happened; he didn't believe me; even though I showed him the marks on the back of my thighs. He never did believe much that I said. I told him the same day that when I was thirteen I'd been assaulted by Mr Green, one of my teachers; Preston thought I was making that up too, so that he'd take me out of boarding school" Nigel said looking down at the bed, a lump coming into his throat, surprised at himself for mentioning it.

"Were you really assaulted Nigel? Or did you just say it to get his attention?" the doctor asked.

"Yes I really was!" Nigel said, tears welling up in his eyes "I wouldn't lie about a thing like that! Luckily it only happened once" he said trying not to recall the incident too vividly.

"When you say assaulted, do you mean physically or sexually; what exactly happened?" the doctor asked, with genuine concern, handing his patient a tissue. Nigel explained what happened and said "I was too frightened, at the time, to tell anyone as I really thought Mr Green would hurt my family. As I said when I did eventually tell my brother he didn't believe any of it and he sent me back to school. I think Preston blames me for something and used the school as my punishment; he's never explained why he left me there so long; he knew I was miserable being away from home" he said, looking at the doctor and realising he'd never told anyone about these things before.

"That's just dreadful Nigel but have you actually ever asked him the reason for leaving you there when you were so unhappy?" the doctor asked.

"No, I was just too scared of him, he's about your size, so even when I grew up a bit, I was always wary of antagonising him. I suppose I'm scared of what the answer might be too; it plays on my mind sometimes. I haven't spoken to him since I left England and he doesn't know I'm here" he said.

"Well son, I think you are going to have to confront him; it's no good running away, he might have a perfectly reasonable explanation, one you've not thought of." The doctor said. Nigel knew he could be right.

"Now about that teacher, you know you should do something about him; what if he's still abusing children!" doctor Baines said.

Nigel suddenly became quite alarmed and said "oh my God, I hadn't considered that, it just felt so personal to me when I was a child. I've tried to keep it out of my head, but I still have nightmares about it." Nigel heart was beating so fast at the shock of what the doctor had just said and he knew he'd have to find out if Clive Green was still teaching.

"Son, you need closure on that and you really must try and find out whether he's still in a position to harm other children" the doctor said; feeling very sorry for Nigel whom he could tell had been badly affected by his past; particularly by being beaten and sexually assaulted.

"I'll find out" Nigel said, his stomach in knots at the thought of what he'd discover.

"Suddenly Doctor Baines changed the subject and said very seriously "Nigel, what sort of therapy were you given when your parents died? Did you see a psychologist or psychiatrist?"

"I didn't need therapy; I just tried really hard not to cry, although I couldn't help it at first. I made Preston really angry because I embarrassed him at mum and dad's funeral by crying so much, he punished me for that, so I had to try harder. I just tried to keep busy by studying extra hard; I managed to control my emotions that way. I guess that's why I didn't need to see anyone" he said, thinking this was how it should have been for a twelve year old boy!

"That's just dreadful Nigel; a therapist would have made sure you did cry! Children, in particular, need help to get through the grieving process! You've, obviously, never been allowed to grieve and your brother probably thought crying was a sign of weakness; which it certainly isn't, you both needed to cry! It looks like he didn't grieve properly either. You know, son, it can take a long time for a child to get over the loss of a parent, never mind both parents!" the doctor said very seriously.

Nigel was so taken aback; he had no idea that the way he felt, and initially behaved after his parents death, was absolutely normal, and that he shouldn't have been punished for it. He thought about what the doctor had just said and wondered if Preston had simply closed off his feelings so he'd appear to be coping with the situation. He considered now that Preston must have been just as distraught as he was at the time; after all, he was only nineteen! He looked at Doctor Baines and said "thank you for explaining that to me Sir, do you think that's why I still have nightmares about my parents, because I wasn't allowed to grieve properly?"

"Yes son, I think it is, but also because of everything else you've told me too; you've just kept it all inside, which is bad for you. You should talk to Sydney about the things you've told me because she'll worry about you having nightmares when you're on a hunt and become distracted. She's told me how dangerous relic hunts are sometimes; that's why she needs to stay focussed" the doctor said, hoping that Nigel would think hard about this; remembering what Sydney had said to him about Nigel when he first arrived.

"You're the first person I've ever talked to about those things Sir and I'm glad I have, but I'm not ready to discuss them with Sydney; that would be too much right now" Nigel said still surprised at himself for opening up to a "stranger".

"Son, I'm willing to give you counselling to help you with your dreams; even though I don't officially practice as a psychologist anymore; you only have to ring and make an appointment and I'll see you" the doctor said, thinking he needs to do something if Nigel felt he couldn't talk to Sydney.

"Thank you Sir, I'd like that, it would be brilliant to have some undisturbed sleep, the problem is Sydney and I go away on hunts such a lot, I'd have to cancel all the time. Um, I don't suppose there's any way you could help me over the phone, is there? I have a mobile, um I mean cell phone, and it would be so good to be able to talk to you if I have a really bad night" Nigel said, already thinking it was too much to ask and he'd refuse.

Doctor Baines smiled as he truly wanted to help him and said "son, ring me anytime, day or night, don't worry about the time difference if you're abroad, just ring." He wrote down his number, handed it to Nigel and continued "you know the more you talk about what's giving you nightmares the better you'll feel and you won't have so many of them."

Nigel then did something which was quite unusual for him; he knelt on the bed and stretched out his arms to hug the doctor saying; with tears in his eyes "thank you so much." Doctor Baines hugged his young patient very tightly realising he needed it, having talked about some truly awful things from his past for the first time.

He helped Nigel back into bed and said "I'm going to have to go soon, feeling slightly tearful himself; I have a dinner party to go to this evening and I still have to vaccinate Sydney. These are the antibiotics that I'd like you to start taking, the instructions are on the box and don't forget to take aspirin or paracetamol to bring that temperature of yours down. If you don't start feeling better after a few days, call my office and I'll come out and see you again. Oh yes, I don't want to hear you're not eating either; make sure you have breakfast, even if it's only cereal, eat plenty of fruit and try to have a light evening meal; you look far too thin son, so try really hard won't you?"

Nigel just looked at him and said "I don't feel like eating but I'll try."

"OK Nigel, just do your best and let me know if you find out anything about that terrible teacher" the doctor said, thinking the poor kid needs to get the past sorted out before he can truly move on with his life.

"I will Sir; I absolutely have to find out what he's up to these days; Oh God, I wish I'd been able to tell Preston at the time it happened!" he said, butterflies coming into his stomach again.

"Nigel, you were thirteen; it wasn't your fault just calm down! I'll be in touch with the results of your tests very soon and I'll schedule your next vaccinations for you, just like I do for Sydney, OK? Now go to sleep, bye son" the doctor said as he left Nigel's bedroom.

"Bye doctor" Nigel said thinking, he not only looks like my dad, he acts like him too! It also occurred to him just how clever Doctor Baines was, as nobody else had ever made him open up like that before.

John Baines went back to the living room to see Sydney and said "he's a very nice young man, he's signed my registration form, so he's officially my patient and you're right, he's very shy, but even so he opened up to me a lot and I hope he will to you one day Syd."

"So there is something wrong, I know you can't tell me anything but do I need to be worried?" she asked.

"Sydney, he'll be fine, but he does have quite a few issues that he needs to sort out. I've started to advise him what I think he should do and, hopefully, he'll take my advice. Try not to worry too much; once he realises how much you care about him I think he'll open up to you too."

Now let's get those vaccinations done and I'll have to leave."

The next day Nigel was feeling rather sore from the injections, but his temperature was down, he wasn't aching so much and he'd had at least five hours sleep. He'd taken paracetamol every few hours, like the doctor advised, and started the course of antibiotics. He was, however, still very weak and had no appetite at all. Realising his boss needed to prepare for work and take care of some personal things, he pretended he felt better than he did, thus enabling Sydney leave.

Before she left she heated up a can of vegetable soup and placed it on his bedside cabinet, telling him there was plenty of food in the kitchen and that he must eat. She also placed his swivel chair by the side of his bed so he could use it to wheel himself around the apartment, if he felt unsteady on his feet. "You will be alright won't you? I'll stay if you want me to" she said, feeling a little concerned that she might be leaving too soon.

"I'll be fine Syd, thanks for helping me, I'm sorry I've been such a bother but to be honest, I don't know what I'd have done without you!" he said, genuinely grateful.

"Oh Nigel, you're most welcome" she said "I'll check on you every day by phone; or I'll pop in to see you. Just phone if you need anything; day or night... I mean it Nigel, day or night!"

"Alright, alright, bye Syd" he said, smiling as she left.

Once she'd gone his first thought was not of food but to get the telephone number of his old school; something he was really dreading but knew he had to do. He rang home with his heart almost in his mouth, as he considered the task ahead.

"Hello nana" he said as Louisa picked up the telephone "are you alright?"

"I'm alright darling; but how're you feeling now, you don't sound very happy?" she said.

"I'm feeling better now nana, I'm calling because I need a favour; can you please find me the telephone number of The Cavendish Academy? I need to call them about something" he said, hoping she wouldn't ask why.

"Um yes, I'll go and find it for you, but will you do something for me please darling?" she said.

"Of course nana, what is it?" he asked.

"Sweetheart, Preston's here, please will you talk to him for a minute while I get the number for you? she asked; hoping he'd say yes.

"Alright, nana; put him on" he said, dreading what Preston would say.

"Podge!" Preston said "how are you old man? I've missed you so much, I hope you've forgiven me for what I did, I'm really sorry."

"It's Nigel, not Podge and no I haven't forgiven you Preston, not by a long shot! That was a horrible sneaky underhanded thing you did to get that interview and you made me really ill exposing me to that horse's blanket! Not to mention how beastly it was of you to pretend you dated Amanda!"

"Yes, I know but I really am sorry, I've felt terrible about it ever since, I really have. So, um, what are you up to Podge? I'd like to hear all about what you're doing" he said with genuine interest.

"I'm working as a teaching assistant for Sydney Fox; I work at Trinity College which is near Boston; in America."

"Are you joking?" he said, absolutely astounded "I've heard of her, she's a relic hunter, as well as a professor, isn't she?"

"Yes she is, she takes me on relic hunts with her too; it's quite dangerous, we get rival relic hunters physically attacking us sometimes; but Sydney's a martial arts expert who can kick the hell out of anyone!" Nigel said, thinking that'll shock him!

"Podge, are you serious about being attacked? You're tiny, how can you protect yourself! Preston asked; feeling quite worried.

"As I said, Sydney's a martial arts expert, she protects me" he said.

"Podge I'm going to be worried to death about you now." he said, thinking his little brother's definitely not cut out to do things like that, plus Sydney Fox is a woman, she couldn't possibly be capable of protecting him at all times.

"You never used to worry about me when I was so miserable in school" Nigel said.

"I did worry Podge, of course I did; I just didn't show it much after mum and dad died. I had a lot on my mind and I was studying for my degree, remember?" Preston said, trying not to upset Nigel. He suddenly changed the subject and said "Podge are you going to tell me why you want the telephone number of your old school? Are you going to a reunion or something?"

"Reunion! Preston my life was made a misery at that school; I never want to set foot in there again!" he said, really surprised that Preston would even think he'd want to return to that torture chamber!

"Podge you couldn't have been that unhappy there, you did so well with your studies. So why do you want to ring them? I'm intrigued" he said.

"I was very unhappy there Preston, you know I was! If I tell you why I want their number do you promise not to tell nana? It'll upset her if you do, so do you promise?" Nigel asked, not really wanting to discuss matters with his brother.

"Podge, you've got me worried, I promise I won't tell her, now what's wrong!" he asked, getting quite agitated.

"Do you remember what I told you Clive Green did to me?" he said, his voice showing signs of stress.

"I assume you mean that nonsense about him assaulting you; of course I remember, it was the best lie you ever came up with!" he said, slightly giggling.

"It wasn't a lie Preston, it happened just as I told you!" he said, going through the facts again about the assault and the brutal beating.

"That's just so terrible Podge, if only you'd told me about him at the time it occurred; I'd have gotten him arrested! When you were thirteen you couldn't have made up a story about something sexual; you were far too innocent, so I'd have believed you! I hope you understand, I really didn't think it was true and I thought you'd completely exaggerated that beating! I just thought you'd been a naughty boy, got your behind caned and you were making a fuss about nothing; what you showed me on the back of your thighs just looked like a couple of minor scratches" Preston said, wishing now he hadn't lost his temper so quickly and listened to his little brother; he recalled he did have a few second thoughts about it at the time, but did nothing.

"Preston, I wasn't naughty, they viciously caned me because I was late for class a few times!" Nigel said, thinking should he say anything more about the school, but deciding not to just yet.

"Oh my God Podge, that's dreadful!" Preston said, realising now just how wrong he'd been about the school and hoping Nigel wouldn't forever hold it against him. Deciding this conversation could lead to other matters from the past that he had no wish to discuss, he went back to the reason Nigel had called and said "Um, um, so what are you actually going to say about all this when you ring the school?"

"I probably won't say anything about the beatings, all I want is to find out if Clive Green's still there and if there have been any complaints about him. My doctor over here suggested it's possible he could still be abusing children even now" Nigel said, feeling really distressed.

"So you're seeing a doctor about this then?" Preston said, wondering what's been said.

"Sort of, he's actually a medical doctor who got me talking about the past" Nigel said.

"Not a psychiatrist?" Preston asked with genuine interest.

"No" Nigel replied.

"What are you going to do if Clive Green is still teaching at the Academy, or anywhere else for that matter?" Preston asked, without giving him a chance to respond. "If you tell the head of the school what happened to you, Mr Green could be arrested; which is what he deserves, but nanny might find out about it then, as it could be reported in the papers! And, of course, if nobody else has complained; they may not believe you!"

"That's a risk I'll have to take, I'm going to ring the head of the school and explain I'm a past student who's decided to sort out some bad memories from the past" Nigel said. "I'll only tell the head who I am if it's absolutely necessary."

Just then Louisa came downstairs with the telephone number for the school so Preston said quickly "let me know what happens please Podge." Louisa took the telephone off Preston and read out the number, which Nigel wrote down, although he probably didn't need to.

"What do you need the number for sweetheart? she asked out of interest.

"Oh nana, I just need a bit of information about something, nothing you'd be interested in, bye nana, speak to you soon" he said.

"Bye darling" she said.

Nigel thought that wasn't too bad for a first conversation with Preston, but he did feel a little upset and quite shaky. Of course, knowing he'd made Nanny Wright happy by speaking to his brother helped.

Before he attempted to ring the school he wanted to try and eat, however, he only managed a few mouthfuls of vegetable soup and a few sips of milk before feeling sick, so solid food was out of the question.

He started to think about what he'll say when he rings the school, feeling very nervous about the response he'd get. Eventually he plucked up the courage to dial the number, trying desperately to keep his nerves under control, but he was actually shaking. Suddenly there was a voice at the end of the telephone saying "Cavendish Academy, Miss Juke speaking; how may I help?"

"Um, um, may I…. I um may I speak with the headmistress or headmaster please?" he said timidly.

"Who should I say's calling" Miss Juke asked.

"Would, um, you please just tell him or her that I'm a past student who needs to have a private conversation with them" he said trying not to sound like an idiot.

"Alright, I'll put you through, but I should warn you; he's only been the headmaster for a day, hold the line please" Miss Juke said, as she transferred his call to the headmaster's office.

Suddenly he heard a very familiar voice saying "hello, Jacob Irons speaking, can I help you?" Nigel almost threw the telephone down in shock!

"Hello Sir" Nigel said rather sheepishly.

"Nigel, is that you!" Mr Irons said.

"Yes, um, it is, I didn't know you'd, um, been promoted, congratulations!" he said, delighted that his old teacher had got the position he always wanted.

"Thank you son, actually I only became the head of the school yesterday Nigel, so if you didn't know about my promotion, what are you ringing? Do you need my help with something?" he asked, feeling quite intrigued.

Nigel very nervously explained what had happened to him when he was thirteen and asked if Clive Green was still a teacher. Jacob Irons was horrified to hear his account of that day and knew he wouldn't make up such a story.

"Nigel, son, why oh why didn't you come to me at the time, you know I'd have believed you" he said sympathetically.

"I hadn't met you more than once when it happened, I didn't have any lessons with you until I was fourteen. I couldn't go to anybody though, I was too frightened" he said, trying to blank out the details of that terrible day.

"Nigel, Clive Green is actually dead! He committed suicide! He actually shot himself at his home just after you left for America. He'd been accused of sexually assaulting a fourteen year old boy at this school and was immediately suspended while it was investigated. The school couldn't keep it out of the papers, although Mrs Bixby tried very hard, and eventually four ex students from this school came forward to say they'd been assaulted by him too! Apparently he'd threatened to kill their families if they told anyone, just like he threatened you. Two of those students were attacked in 1989, before he attacked you, so you weren't the first by any means. Only one of those boys was at the Academy when you were here, you could have known him, although he's older than you, Giles Fulford, do you remember him?" Mr Irons asked.

"Oh my God, yes I do, he had massive muscles; he beat me with a cane lots of times" Nigel said in shock, realising now why Fulford had built up his muscles and behaved so aggressively all the time!

"Yes I heard he used to beat some of the boys, I didn't know he'd beaten you though! I wish you'd told me that, I'd have stopped him. You most certainly weren't a disobedient child and I can't imagine you ever deserved to be caned!" Mr Irons said, and then continued "Clive Green swore he was innocent of the crimes against those boys; saying they'd conspired against him, but after what you've just said, and the fact that those four students were at the school at different times, and wouldn't have known each other, I now know for sure, he wasn't" he said, hoping Nigel wasn't getting too upset.

"Oh God, I don't know how I feel about all this now, I'm glad he's not around to attack any more children" Nigel said with a shiver running up his spine. "I wonder why Preston and Nanny Wright didn't see it in the papers" he said, grateful that they didn't. "Was it ever mentioned on television, Sir?" he asked.

"It was on the local stations, but probably not London. I don't think the story was in too many national newspapers, just a few local ones; it was just luck that those four ex students lived relatively close to Bath and happened to notice it" Mr Irons said.

"Oh, thank goodness it wasn't reported in London!" Nigel said. "I never told my nanny about what happened to me and I only told Preston when I was fifteen, although he didn't believe me."

"Nigel it must have been just terrible keeping it a secret for two years! No wonder you were such a timid little boy at school" Mr Irons said. "Why didn't you tell me when you were fifteen, you knew me then?"

"Because I didn't think anyone would believe me, it was just my word against his and I thought if Preston didn't believe me, nobody else would! Anyway you spoke to me about Oxford, just after I'd told Preston about the assault, so I was living in hope I'd soon be leaving the school" Nigel said, hoping Mr Irons would understand what he was going through at the time.

"You know the police went through the records kept by the nurses here and there were many entries, over the years, where boys from Mr Green's class visited them for no apparent reason other than they felt a bit shaky or nervous; giving them silly excuses for why they felt like that. The police thought those entries might relate to something he'd said or done to them, but there was no proof. Actually, come to think of it, one of them was about you! I believe you told the nurse you were scared because of something to do with a ghost!" he said, wondering if the police were correct all along.

"That was what I told the nurse when he assaulted me, I was too terrified to tell her the truth" he said, hating the fact that he could remember the details of that day vividly, adding "Mr Green gave me a microscope for my thirteenth birthday which I left there when I went to Oxford. He thought I'd allow him to touch me and probably do more because he'd given me that gift" Nigel said.

"Good heavens! I bet that's the microscope I found in your old dormitory about six years ago; I still have it in lost property! The reason I remember the microscope is because I thought nobody would claim it after so many years and it could be put to use in the science room. Mrs Bixby wouldn't allow it though and I'm glad she didn't now! Do you want it?" Mr Irons asked.

"No thank you, you keep it, use it in the science room by all means, I don't ever want to see it again" he said, quite amazed that the microscope was still there.

"Do you mind if I talk to the police about what you've told me Nigel?" he asked.

"Well I guess you'll have to, but I'd rather you didn't mention my name, unless you've no choice. I really don't want my nanny finding out about it, it would kill her! Please be very careful Sir" Nigel said seriously.

"Don't worry son, I'll be very discreet and I'll let you know if anything happens in connection with what you've said. I doubt it will though, as Clive's dead; they can't take a dead man to court! At least now I'm absolutely sure he was guilty. I wish this hadn't happened to you Nigel" Mr Irons said, with a very sad heart.

"Yes Sir, me too, bye, speak to you soon" he said, putting down the telephone.

Suddenly he started to tremble, he felt quite queasy and his head began to throb as the two conversations he'd had that day went round and round in his head. Realising he was going to be sick, he sat on his swivel chair and wheeled himself, as fast as he could, to the bathroom. He just made it; although he wasn't too sick as he'd eaten so little. He stayed with his head hovering over the toilet for a little while and then wheeled himself to the living room to watch television. He hoped a movie would distract him, but it didn't, he just couldn't get the events of the day out of his mind.

He remembered seeing some wine in the refrigerator which he thought might help him sleep. Having gulped down half a glass, which didn't make him sick; he led on the top of his bed and began to feel drowsy. He eventually dropped off but still only got about two hour's rest before he woke up with a start and his mind started racing again.

At about nine the following morning he was absolutely shattered, he'd tossed and turned all night as his thoughts kept him awake. Suddenly the telephone rang and it made him jump! He held his hand to his heart, picked up the receiver and said "hello, who is it?"

"It's Sydney, how're you feeling? Are you eating properly?"

"Oh hi Syd, I've had some soup and milk, but I can't face solid food just yet, don't worry, I'll be fine" he said, hoping she wouldn't make a fuss, but knowing he was far from fine.

"OK Nigel, but I want to hear you're eating more than soup by tomorrow or I'm coming back to force feed you!" she said, meaning every word!

"Oh, um, I'll do my best Syd, bye" he said, thinking he's going to have to try harder to eat. He made his way to the kitchen, his legs still trembling as he looked in the refrigerator. Seeing the fruit and yoghurt immediately made him nauseous so he sat down at the table, ran his fingers through his hair and pushed it off his face. It was no good; he couldn't face food, and just sat there thinking about Clive Green and Preston.

Feeling so shattered, yet unable to sleep, he bravely decided to call Doctor Baines, hoping he'd prescribe some sleeping pills. He wouldn't normally have anything to do with doctors and had felt like that since he was a baby and received his first inoculation! However, there was something different about John Baines who Nigel realised had his best interests at heart. With that in mind he picked up the telephone, called his office and spoke to the receptionist saying "hello, my name's Nigel Bailey; please may I speak to Doctor Baines, I'm a patient of his?"

"I'm afraid he's with another patient at the moment Mr Bailey; may I take your number and I'll get him to call you back" she replied. He gave her his number and about ten minutes later the doctor rang back.

"Hello Nigel, is everything alright? You're not having an allergic reaction to the inoculations I hope" the doctor asked.

"Um no, I'm alright with those Sir, I'm just a little sore, like you said I'd be. Um, do you remember what I said about that man who assaulted me?" he said rather quietly.

"Of course I do Nigel, did you find out something?" the doctor asked.

"Yes I did, I spoke to one of my ex teachers, who was very kind to me when I was at school; I told him what happened to me and asked if Clive Green still taught there" he said.

"So, what did he say Nigel?" the doctor enquired.

"Um, you were right Sir, he did abuse other children." Nigel explained everything he'd been told by Mr Irons, trying not to choke as a lump came into his throat. He also told the doctor that he'd spoken to his brother, just before he rang the school, and that they'd discussed the beatings and assault. "My head's spinning because of all that so I was just wondering if I could please have some sleeping pills; or something to help me relax" he said; thinking Doctor Baines must think he's really pathetic!

"Nigel, I've got one more patient to see then I'm coming round to see you; I don't like it when my patient's ask for things like that, so I'll see you in a little while, alright?" the doctor said, sounding rather concerned.

"Um, alright Sir" he said, wondering why doctor Baines worried about him asking for sleeping pills.

Forty minutes later John Baines came to Nigel's apartment, they shook hands and the doctor asked him to sit down, as he could see the exhaustion in his young face and how unsteady he was on his feet.

"Nigel, can we first just talk for a few minutes about what you were telling me earlier?" Without giving Nigel a chance to say anything he continued. "I know you're feeling upset about that teacher but you say you've talked to your brother now too; so did you ask him why he left you at boarding school so long?" he asked.

"No I didn't, not yet" he replied.

"Oh, I thought you might have, you need to get to the bottom of that as it seems to be the main thing that's been bothering you; you might feel more at peace when you get an answer to that. Of course that will depend on what he says, but at least you'll know whether it was something you said or did that made him treat you that way."

Nigel looked at the doctor and suddenly it was all too much, he was completely exhausted, his head was throbbing and now the doctor had mentioned the other thing that constantly troubled him. He just started to cry "I'm sorry Sir; you must think I'm such a baby, I've tried really hard to keep my emotions under control" he said wiping his eyes with his hands.

The doctor gave him a hug and said "Nigel, don't be silly, it's like I told you, it's not good to keep everything locked up inside you; you just cry when you need to and talk to your friends and family about how you feel; I'm sure they'll understand. You've kept those things to yourself for years, now you're talking about them and found out some horrible things, it's bound to make you emotional. You'll feel better soon though; none of it was your fault Nigel; you were just a child. You just need to talk to your brother about that one particular matter, so you can come to terms with it and hopefully move on with your life."

Doctor Baines looked at his young patient, who he thought looked quite fragile and continued "Nigel; about your request for sleeping pills, you know they're not the answer in the long term, talking is the answer to that, but I'll give you something to help you sleep for a couple of nights. You really do have a lot on your mind, so I'll actually give you three pills, you can take one an hour before you go to bed tonight and one tomorrow, but I don't want you to take the third one unless you absolutely have to, alright son?"

"Yes Sir, thank you so much and thanks for coming out to see me too; I really appreciate it" he said sincerely.

"Just one more thing Nigel, what have you eaten in the last couple of days?" the doctor asked, concerned because he could see his jeans looked really loose.

"Oh um I'm trying to eat Sir but I just can't seem to swallow food without retching, I actually did throw up a bit yesterday too. I tried some soup that Sydney put out for me, and um, I had some milk yesterday" he said, thinking the doctor is going to be annoyed with him.

"Nigel, I don't think you should be on your own in the frame of mind you're in and because you're not eating. I think you could get seriously depressed if you continue the way you're going" he said.

"I'll try and eat Sir, I promise, I'm feeling quite weak actually, so I know I must try. I'm even finding it difficult to get around my apartment because my legs are so shaky; I've been using my swivel chair to do that" Nigel said, thinking he wished he felt better.

"Do you have any weighing scales Nigel?" the doctor asked.

"Yes Sir, I do, they're in the bathroom, but I never use them, they were here when I moved in" he said.

"Stay here a minute, I'll go and get them" the doctor said, as he left the room. Nigel recalled when he was sixteen he had a similar problem and he remembered how strict Aunty Alice was about making him eat! Doctor Baines brought the scales into the living room and asked Nigel to stand on them, which he did; almost fainting as he tried to stand still while the doctor checked the dial. The doctor caught hold of him before he hit the floor and having noted his weight, gently sat him back on the sofa.

"Nigel If you don't start eating properly soon I'll have you put in hospital where they'll ensure that you do; am I making myself clear young man?" the doctor said seriously.

"No! I'm not going into hospital, No!" Nigel said in a raised voice, as he sat on the sofa looking quite scared; putting his knees up under his chin and his arms around his legs, making him look really tiny.

The doctor was surprised at his young patient's reaction and said "OK Nigel, calm down; thinking he's got to get him to eat.

"Sorry Sir, I really hate hospitals" he said, even though he knew he needed help.

"Nigel, by this time next week I want to see you've put on at least three pounds in weight, or you'll go to hospital, got it!" Doctor Baines said very sternly. Nigel just looked at the ground but didn't speak. He sat there staring at the floor for a few minutes and then realised that the doctor had left the room. He could hear him in the kitchen opening the freezer and putting something into the microwave. He suddenly came back into the living room, caught hold of Nigel under his right arm, marched him very unsteadily to the kitchen table and sat him down firmly.

"Right young man; get that inside you… all of it!" Nigel looked up at his doctor and knew that he wouldn't be allowed down from the table until he'd finished the entire plate of macaroni cheese. The doctor could see he was having great difficulty swallowing it, but he wasn't going to give in, he stood there looking very severe, yet kind at the same time. Nigel ate very slowly but he managed to eat it all! Doctor Baines smiled at him and asked "do you feel any better for eating that son?"

"Yes, I do Sir, thank you for caring. I'm really sorry I've been such a bother, you shouldn't have gone to so much trouble" he said feeling very bloated and slightly sick; but glad that he'd managed to eat something.

"Nigel, I've decided I'm going to call Sydney to tell her you could do with some help; I'm sure she'll either come and stay with you or call on you a couple of times a day to ensure you eat. I'd imagine if she can't call in she'll send Claudia to check on you" the doctor said just before he left.

Nigel thought doctor Baines was brilliant, someone who genuinely cared about his patients; he certainly didn't have to make a meal for him; or come out to his apartment for that matter. He realised now why Sydney liked him so much, he was exactly as she'd said, very kind and caring.

That evening he turned on the television, watched the news and a documentary on Chichen Itza and then suddenly felt quite sleepy. He still took a sleeping pill to ensure he slept for a decent amount of time and actually slept reasonably well, apart from one bad dream; waking up on Tuesday morning feeling more refreshed than he'd felt in weeks.

He decided it was now or never, he'd have to ring Preston and tell him what Mr Irons had said about Clive Green and confront him with that one question! Preston was very shocked to hear what had happened, as he'd heard absolutely nothing about it and said "thank goodness he's not around anymore Podge, now you can put that all behind you and move on."

"I'd love to be able to do that but with a memory like mine, it's nearly impossible! Look Preston, I need to know something" Nigel said feeling quite nervous "I need to ask you... um, I want to... Oh Preston why did you leave me at boarding school after you left university! You knew I was miserable there, so why?"

"Podge, you know I couldn't look after you when I was at work, I worked long hours and when I got home I was very tired and had lots of paperwork to do. You'd have been on your own too much, especially on the evenings that Nanny went home" he said, not wanting to say too much.

"But I would have been at school during the day and I wouldn't have cared about being on my own in the evenings. I wasn't exactly a wild child Preston, so it wouldn't have been that hard to look after me, surely?" he said, thinking he's got no reason at all, or blamed him for their parent's death!

"Podge, it just wasn't possible, you had to go to boarding school, like I said before; you did brilliantly; so it couldn't have been all bad" he said, hoping Nigel would give up asking him now.

"That's not the point, you knew how desperately unhappy I was, right from the start; so why didn't you send me to day school when you left university?" he asked, hoping he'd now get an answer.

"Podge, the world's not a perfect place and there are things that little boys shouldn't be exposed to, it was just better if you went to boarding school where you were looked after without being involved in things you were too young to understand" Preston said, completely confusing his younger brother.

"I've no idea what you're talking about Preston, what would I have been exposed to at St Bartholomew's that I wouldn't have been at the Cavendish Academy? They're both boys' schools" he said, thinking, this is ridiculous!

"Podge, just take my word for it, you were better off at boarding school, you wouldn't have been any happier if you'd been at home with me. You were quite a naughty boy for a couple of years, calling me rude things, swearing and generally losing your temper. I had to punish you such a lot and I think you'd have gotten worse if you'd stayed home. It's obvious, you were better off at that school, can't you see that Podge?" he said, hoping Nigel wouldn't push him further.

"No I can't see that Preston, I was only naughty because I was desperate to leave boarding school and you know that! If you'd have let me come home to live I'd have been really good. I wasn't disobedient before you sent me away, was I?" he asked.

"No you were never very badly behaved before that, but you made up for it later; that's for sure!" Preston said.

Nigel started to feel quite annoyed that his brother was being so evasive, so he shouted "Preston! What was the real reason you didn't want me at home! Tell me!"

"I told you Nigel! I thought you would be better off at boarding school" he said, but he didn't sound very convincing.

"No, that's not it, why didn't you want me at home Preston!" Nigel shouted even louder.

"Podge, don't be rude now, just leave it please!" Preston said, sounding just like he did when Nigel was fifteen.

"No Preston, I'm grown up now; I want to know what I did as a child that made you leave me in a place you knew I hated! Do you blame me for mum and dad death!" Nigel asked, absolutely adamant he was going to get an answer.

"No Podge, no I don't. OK I admit I did for a little while and that's why I initially sent you to that particular school, but after a couple of months I knew I was wrong. I don't even know why I blamed you in the first place! I should never have done that, but I did, and I'm very sorry. I hope you haven't been thinking that all these years! It wasn't your fault; you were only twelve and you were such a sweet and innocent little boy" he said, quite sincerely.

Nigel felt so relieved at what his brother had just said, but he was now even more determined to get an answer and said "well if it wasn't that, what made you leave me there Preston?"

"Podge you were a child and I was a man; there are things that men need that they wouldn't want children to see. Can I just leave it at that, it was for your own good I sent you away" he said, making Nigel think it was something really bad he was keeping from him. He suddenly felt like he did as a child when Preston frustrated him and shouted really loudly "why did you leave me there Preston! Tell me! Tell me why you did it!"

"Alright! Alright! Podge, I liked to have girls around to visit me and I didn't want you being exposed to them, OK?" he said, hoping that would be enough.

"What do you mean by that? You had girls around before you sent me away; I saw a couple of them when I was little; so why shouldn't I have seen them? That's really stupid Preston!" he said.

"Oh Podge, my sweet naive little brother, they were prostitutes! Now are you satisfied!" he said feeling thoroughly ashamed and upset.

"What! You left me at boarding school so that you could have prostitutes in our home! How dare you! Mum and dad would never have allowed such things to go on at the house! You despicable beast Preston!" Nigel shouted.

"I'm sorry Podge! Please forgive me!" he said.

"No you selfish pig, go to hell!" and with that he slammed the telephone down. He was furious with his brother for letting him suffer while he enjoyed himself... with prostitutes of all things! Sitting on the sofa, feeling utterly disgusted with his brother's confession, he breathed deeply trying to calm himself, when suddenly the telephone rang. Thinking it might be Preston; he ignored it, and did that several times in case it was him. He was adamant he wouldn't speak to his brother for a very long time, even if Nanny Wright asked him to.

To help block out the disturbing thoughts that were running through his head, he put on some classical music, which he hoped would help relax him. After about half an hour he felt a little calmer and thought he'd better try and eat, remembering what Doctor Baines had said about sending him to hospital! He firstly drank some orange juice and then ate a banana and some yoghurt, which luckily didn't make him nauseous, and he finished them both. Feeling completely worn out he started to head for his bedroom, bearing in mind what he'd found out earlier, he hoped he'd be able to sleep; although, of course, he still had a couple of sleeping pills if he couldn't. He was just passing through the entrance hall when the bell on the intercom rang.

"Who is it?" he said sleepily.

"Nigel! It's Sydney, are you alright! I've been ringing you, I thought you were hurt! Can I come up? John Baines said you need looking after."

"Oh, I'm sorry Syd, I'm alright, please come up" he said, thinking I hope she's not too angry with me!

Two minutes later she knocked on his door and he let her in. She immediately hugged him very tightly and then stepped back and just stared at him. After about ten seconds of scrutinising her young assistant she said "Nigel, you look terrible! Have you eaten? John said you weren't eating enough to keep a fly alive!"

"I had something a few minutes ago and I haven't been sick, so I'm fine Syd, it's nice to see you though; do you want a cup of coffee or something stronger?" he asked, trying to be polite. She noticed he was leaning against the hall cupboard, trying not to yawn, so she took his arm and walked him into the living room.

"Nigel you stay there, I'll get myself a drink and make you some tea" she said walking into the kitchen. She was only gone about five minutes but when she came back he'd fallen asleep. Not wanting to disturb him she switched on the television, keeping the volume low, and watched it as he slept. After about an hour she checked his temperature, which seemed fine, so considering he must simply be exhausted she picked him up and carried him to bed. Amazingly he didn't wake up and slept for a further three hours.

Waking up from a much needed sleep he shouted "Syd, are you still here?" She ran into his bedroom and said "are you OK Nigel!"

"Yes I'm fine, much better for having that sleep, but I'm sorry for being so rude, I couldn't keep my eyes open... Syd, um did you carry me to bed?" he said, looking very embarrassed.

"Yes I did; you're as light as a feather! Don't worry about falling asleep, you obviously needed it. Now let's get some food into that skinny body of yours, what would you like? Shall I order Chinese?" she said, hoping he'd say yes, because that's what she wanted.

"Yes I'll try some, but please don't get too much, just a little bit for me" he said, hoping Sydney would listen as he really didn't feel very hungry.

"Right I'll ring for the food and you can choose a movie to watch OK?" she said, hoping that he'd take the hint that she intended to stay the night. She had no spare clothes with her but she knew she'd just worry if she went home having seen how frail he was.

As soon as the food arrived Sydney tucked in and made him eat. The funny thing was he actually enjoyed it and she was pleased to see he'd eaten at least half of what she'd given him. They watched "Star Wars" together and as soon as it finished Nigel snuck out to have a bath, just in case Sydney tried to bathe him again! He hadn't had a bath for a few days as he'd felt too weak, but he managed it this time. After putting on clean underwear and his dressing gown he unsteadily made his way back into the living room where he noticed Sydney was curled up on the sofa, with a blanket over her.

"Are you going to stay here tonight Syd? You're most welcome, if you want to" he said shyly.

"Yes, I am, I think I'm actually going to stay until you're feeling a lot better Nigel, if you don't mind. I'll get up extra early tomorrow, get some clean clothes from home to wear to work and while I'm there I'll pack a suitcase. I really think you need someone with you to make sure you eat, is that OK with you?" she asked, thinking he looked so fragile that even if he didn't want her to stay, she still would!

"Oh thanks Syd, if you really don't mind, I'd appreciate the company at the moment, as long as you don't overdo things!" he said thinking, thank goodness she's staying!

Sydney was still with Nigel the following Monday, when Doctor Baines called to see him. The first thing the doctor did was weigh him and he was very surprised to see that he'd gained two pounds!

"Very good Nigel, not as much as I wanted but I'll let that go, as you're obviously trying hard; now keep eating properly young man!" the doctor said. Nigel felt very relieved that he wasn't being sent to hospital!

John Banes then looked at him and said "Nigel, I've got the results of those tests I had done last week and I'm afraid you have got yellow fever; you must have been bitten when you were in Peru, but you've done extremely well fighting it"

"Am I going to be alright Sir?" he said feeling very uneasy.

"Yes, yes son; you'll be fine, the tests show that your kidneys were not affected and you'll probably be completely well in a week or so. All the other tests came back and you're fine other than you're a bit anaemic. If you continue to eat properly that'll improve, but I'll give you some iron pills until then?" he said, feeling glad that he didn't have to tell him anything too bad.

"Thanks Sir, I've had anaemia before, so I'm not worried about that." Nigel said thinking this could be so much worse.

Now about the other problem, are you sorting that out with your brother?" the doctor asked.

"Yes, I've talked with him and he made me really angry, but at least I now know why he left me at boarding school for so long" he said, with a sad look on his face.

"Do you want to tell me what he said Nigel?" he asked, thinking he might need to get it off his chest.

Nigel explained what his brother had said and shouted "he's a pig Sir, a real pig!" He tried not to cry as he thought about the injustice he'd suffered.

"Oh, that's disgraceful Nigel, but at least you know it wasn't your fault! I got the impression last week that you thought he blamed you for something. You were just a youngster at the time, so what did you think you'd done wrong Nigel?"

"I guess, deep down, I thought he blamed me for our parent's death because I blamed myself at the time." Nigel explained the events that led up to his parent's death and then to him being sent away and told him what Preston had said about it the previous day.

"So how do you feel now then Nigel?" the doctor asked.

"Sir, I'm just angry with Preston, he shouldn't have done that to me" he said, hoping that Doctor Baines would understand how he felt.

"Nigel you've done so well to confront your brother, you've talked about what happened; you've got the answer to that question and although it was a shock, you now know the truth. The one thing I will say though is, don't hate your brother, he's probably suffering even more than you are right now, having told you his "dirty little secret." If you hate him, you'll just suffer, so don't do it. From everything you've said, I'm sure he loves you very much and the likelihood is, when he had those girls around, he genuinely believed, in his slightly twisted mind, that he was protecting you by sending you away. Right now he's most likely feeling as guilty as sin and has probably felt that way for years. The next time you have a chance to talk to him you should try to forgive him for being so selfish. I have a feeling that he's got a lot of personal issues that he needs to deal with, probably even more than you!" Doctor Baines said, thinking I hope Nigel will be able to do this or he'll never be able to move on.

"Thank you Sir, I think you're probably right, but it'll be hard, he's done so many things to me in the past that were quite despicable; eventually I forgave him though. The trouble is I've heard him say sorry so many times, and he probably was, but then he'd do something even worse! Nigel said.

"It sounds to me like his feelings towards you are very mixed up; and he just can't help himself" the doctor said

"I suppose so" Nigel said, not really sure how he was going to handle the situation.

Doctor Baines smiled and said "I want to talk to you now about when you go back to work, which won't actually be for a while. After you return I don't want you going on any relic hunts for at least a couple of months, you're not to teach any classes for at least three weeks and no lifting heavy books, or anything else, until your completely well. You can do as much research as you want, as long as you get to bed at a reasonable hour. I know Sydney works into the night sometimes and I expect she has you stay behind occasionally, but you're not to do that for at least a month, am I making myself very clear on that?" the doctor said seriously "nothing strenuous or stressful at all!"

"Yes Sir, I'll follow the rules, I promise" he said thinking, it's nice to know that he won't be crawling through any bug infested places; or meeting dangerous rival relic hunters, for a little while longer!

"I'll tell Sydney the rules too, so that she's completely aware of things. I'm afraid I've got another appointment in half an hour so I've got to go. Just call me if you need to, even if it's to talk about your nightmares, remember you can call me anytime about that, and keep eating OK?" Doctor Baines said giving Nigel a friendly pat on the back.

"I'll do my best Sir, bye" he said, thinking Doctor Baines is the best doctor in the world.

Sydney stayed with Nigel for another week, ensuring he ate so he'd regain the strength he'd lost by lying in bed so long. Once he was walking, albeit with a little difficulty, he kept asking if he could come back to work; he was bored out of his mind at home. Sydney was very reluctant to let him at first, as he was still quite weak, but she eventually gave in after talking further with John Baines, and agreed to a few hours a day.

She was feeling awful about the fact that Nigel had caught yellow fever whilst in Peru, especially since he'd have happily stayed at home. It was just that she hated Derek Lloyd bossing her around and when he declared only she could come with him she refused to go without Nigel!

She apologised to Nigel several times for being so pig headed, particularly when she'd seen him struggling, as he was so weak. Even though she knew he was going to be fine; there was always that horrible thought in the back of her mind that he could have died and for that reason, when he first returned to work, she was very overprotective.

On his first day back at work Claudia gave him a really big hug, which made him blush, but also made him feel very welcome. She thought he looked really fragile and couldn't bring herself to tease him or embarrass him like she usually did; she just wanted to help him get better, which actually made Nigel feel more uncomfortable than if she'd just been herself!

Sydney gave him lots of research to do, which only required him to use his computer and some books. She'd hired Dave, one of her students, while Nigel was off, to prepare the various classrooms for her and kept him on when Nigel returned to fetch and carry for him. Dave had no problem with that as he needed the extra cash and he could see how frail Nigel was. Sydney had also employed a temporary teaching assistant, Suzy, once she'd realised how sick Nigel was and she was more than happy to stay on for a further month, or until Nigel was back to full time working.

Sydney had no intention of allowing Nigel do anything more than research for an entire month; regardless of whether John Baines advised he could do more before then. She kept a very close eye on her young assistant, giving him a couple of swats across his backside, on more than one occasion, for doing things he wasn't supposed to do!

Nigel was so relieved to be back at work and initially enjoyed just doing research. However, after about two weeks, he realised he was missing teaching, and the rest of his duties, although he knew he wasn't ready for a relic hunt. He asked Sydney for more to do, which she refused at first; although after he gave her one of his lopsided smiles, followed by a sad look, she decided he'd be capable of authenticating some relics; something he loved doing, and required little effort from him.

As soon as the month was up Sydney allowed him resume his normal duties, as he was looking a lot healthier and even though his skin was still pale, at least it wasn't yellow! Apart from needing to put on a few more pounds he was almost back to normal but she still kept a close eye on him.

After a few more weeks Sydney was hoping that Nigel would want to go relic hunting again, as she was personally missing the challenge and could hardly wait for someone to walk into the office and ask them to find something.

Nigel had thought, ever since he'd first met Sydney, that all he really wanted was a nice little teaching job and a nice quiet library where he'd be surrounded by books. Generally, that was still true but having been cooped up in his apartment for so long, and actually getting his wish, he was beginning to have second thoughts!

ItHoH had been almost three months since they'd been to Peru, however, when Stewie Harper walked into Sydney's office he was probably the last person on earth she wanted to see, even if he did want them to hunt for the Rune Stone of King Jann 1st of Norway!

Stewie had given a large donation to the college so President Morris was happy to allow Sydney and Nigel to help him. Sydney, who had never trusted Stewie, reluctantly agreed, but she really had little choice in the matter.

They all three flew to Stockholm in Sweden, checked into their hotel and then went across the street to the Viking Restaurant. Nigel was very impressed by their pretty waitress, as she had amazing knowledge of Viking history. Her name was Mika and she helped them several times with information about the possible whereabouts of the Rune Stone. Nigel thought Mika was gorgeous, and she thought he was too, but Sydney was a little concerned that Nigel might get too involved with her and get his heart broken. However, she was too busy watching what Stewie was doing to prevent Nigel from falling for their attractive waitress.

Stewie had a map which led them to a monastery where they believed the Rune Stone might be hidden. When they arrived the first thing that they noticed was a plaque just outside the main building that stated "Erected on the grounds is a stone monument using stones from the original Viking Temple." Upon reading this Sydney was convinced this must be where they'd find the relic.

Once they'd entered the building they soon realised it was no longer a monastery, but a Nude Spa! Sydney decided she'd strip off to enable her to search the grounds and asked Nigel to do the same. It took a lot of persuasion to get Nigel to undress, but he finally agreed; although he was quite upset and embarrassed. Sydney promised she wouldn't look but poor Nigel was still anxious that she might see his scarred backside. Even worse than that he worried that he might inadvertently see Sydney; bearing in mind he still had a slight crush on her, and he was, after all, a young man; the consequences of which were too embarrassing to think about!

They eventually found the monument and discovered the Rune Stone beneath it, buried in the gravel. Needing to get away before anyone realised what they'd done Sydney said to Nigel "how are we going to get it out of here! We aren't exactly wearing pockets!" It was usually Sydney who got them out of awkward or dangerous situations but Nigel was so desperate to leave he had a brainwave! He noticed a very large umbrella which he believed was big enough for them to hide the Rune Stone and themselves behind, while they made their escape. What Nigel didn't realise was that when he stepped forward to grab the umbrella; and then backed up to where Sydney stood, she accidentally saw his behind! She was horrified to see the scars and immediately felt terrible for making him strip off. However, considering their predicament she knew she'd have to wait until later before questioning him on the matter. They'd just started to leave, when suddenly there was an almighty crash and the stone structure completely collapsed! Lucky for them that distracted everyone, enabling them to grab their clothes and flee.

As they'd left the spa in such a hurry they hadn't been able to properly examine the stone. However, once they had, they realised it wasn't the Rune Stone of Jann 1st, but that of Jann 2nd, who was also known as Jann the Bold who'd plundered vast fortunes across Europe, which had never been found. This Rune Stone, along with various other clues, led them to the location of the lost treasure. Of course, this was the real reason Stewie wanted to find that particular Rune Stone!

Unfortunately, Sydney became quite distracted, on several occasions, as they looked for the treasure, as she couldn't get the thought of Nigel's "beating" out of her head. She tried really hard to stay focused on the hunt but it was really difficult as she cared so much about him.

Once they found the treasure, ensured it would be placed in a museum, and tied up a few loose ends; they returned to their hotel.

Sydney thought long and hard about how she'd approach Nigel about what she'd seen; dreading the thought of what he'd say. She phoned his room and asked him to come and see her. Nigel got very anxious, thinking he must be in trouble, and nervously knocked on her door. She could see by the expression on his face he was worried and immediately said "don't look like that Nigel, everything's fine, I just need to ask you something, come and sit with me over there" she pointed to a sofa that was placed in front of the window.

"Um what is it Syd?" he asked trying to appear calm, but his heart was beating very fast.

"Nigel, when we were at the Spa, do you remember when you got that umbrella for us to hide behind?" she asked, trying to sound as gentle as possible.

"Yes Syd, what about it?" he said; suddenly blushing, realising what she might be about to say!

"I saw your butt Nigel, I'm so sorry, I just couldn't help it!" she blurted out, causing him to blush even more and look down at the floor, feeling completely mortified. She went on "the thing is it looks like you've been viciously beaten and I just have to know what happened to you and who did it! Oh Nigel, are those scars the reason why you're so shy around women?" she asked in a very concerned tone of voice.

He was simply dying of embarrassment and said to her quietly "I got the cane at school and yes that's one of the reasons I'm so self-conscious around women; I worry that they'll find them repulsive! I don't want anyone seeing them, including you! That's why I didn't want to go into that spa! I was absolutely horrified when you made me do it Syd!" he said looking down at the ground again.

"I'm so sorry Nigel; I really wouldn't have made you do it if I'd known. I guess I shouldn't have forced you anyway really, I just couldn't see any other way to search those extensive grounds; it would've taken me too long alone. I'm sure you realise I couldn't have trusted Stewie to tell me if he'd found the monument or stone, but I trust you implicitly. Um, Nigel, what on earth did you do to get caned so badly; murder someone!" she asked thinking how painful the beating must have been.

"You're right Syd; you shouldn't have made me do it! I guess I understand why you did though and no, I didn't murder anyone, I was just late for class once too often" he said, getting up off the sofa and walking towards the door.

"Nigel, please don't leave, I really want to know what happened" thinking he'd just made that up about being late. She walked over to him, held his shoulders, and looked him in the eyes; she could see he was close to tears and said "please Nigel, tell me about it; nobody should have hit you like that."

He looked away and then turned back and quietly explained what the three prefects had done to him "I still have nightmares about it Syd but Doctor Baines has been helping me deal with my past" he said, a lump coming into his throat.

Sydney was stunned and thought the school should have done something about the cruel deeds that went on. She was very glad to hear that Nigel was getting help from John Baines; but she still wanted him to open up to her. She put her arms around him, hugged him tightly and said "I wish you'd talk to me, your nightmares are terrible sometimes; I never quite know what to do for you when you scream and cry in your sleep; you always say I shouldn't worry, but I do! You must have had a tough time when you were a little boy" she said, wondering how on earth anyone could hurt such a sweet natured person as Nigel.

"It was more when I was a teenager that things were really bad for me; it got better when I went to Oxford and lived with Uncle George and Aunty Alice, but I've always had nightmares about the past, I'm sorry if I upset you" he said, looking at the floor again.

"Don't worry about it, just feel free to talk to me about anything; at anytime" she said, thinking she would love to kick the heck out of those prefects who hurt young Nigel.

"I don't really want to talk about it right now Syd, but one day I will, I'll tell you everything, but right now, I'm trying not to think about those things too much. Don't worry, I'll be fine" he said, hoping she wouldn't try to persuade him to change his mind. "Is it alright if I go now please? I'd like to see Mika again before we leave."

"No that's fine Nigel, enjoy yourself, but don't go falling in love; we have to leave tomorrow and I don't want to see your little face looking all sad like that time in Chicago, OK?"

"OK Syd, see you tomorrow" he said, feeling so glad that was over and done with for now.

Once he'd left, Sydney began to mull over their conversation and thought; no wonder the poor kid gets so uncomfortable when a woman makes a move on him. She was glad that he'd found the confidence to go out with Mika but realised it was unlikely they'd end up in bed together, only having this one date. She knew that Nigel had spent the night with Lori, in Chicago, but she now wondered if they'd actually made love.

Immediately after his serious conversation with Sydney, Nigel met Mika who'd just finished her shift. It was quite late so all they did was go for a stroll in a nearby park, as Mika was very tired. Nigel would have liked to have taken her on a proper date, but as he and Sydney were leaving the following day, it wasn't possible. Mika was working very long hours to enable her to go to university and, with the help of her parents, had almost saved enough to do that. However, she told Nigel that, before she begins her studies, she wants to have a nice holiday, as her parents, who were very proud of her, had given her money for her birthday with strict instructions to use it for something she'd enjoy. After talking with Nigel about her future plans she decided that what she'd really like to do was spend a week in Boston, so that she could see him! He was ecstatic and told her she'd be most welcome to stay at his apartment, explaining he'd sleep on the sofa and she could use his bed. She smiled at him and wondered if he really was as innocent as he appeared. He gave her his address and various telephone numbers so she could keep in touch; thinking he'd have to keep his fingers crossed that when she called to say she was coming, he wouldn't be on a relic hunt!

They flew back to America the following morning and although Nigel would have loved to have stayed longer with Mika; he didn't mind leaving so much knowing he'd see her again. He really liked her; particularly as she was so clever, pretty and relatively easy to talk to.

Once they got settled back at Trinity Sydney began to consider talking to Professor Bally about Nigel, as she was concerned that there might be other things from Nigel's past that she really ought to know about. She thought very carefully about whether or not to ring her old friend, as it could be seen as invading Nigel's privacy. However, feeling so protective towards him, particularly after what had happened in Peru, she truly believed that the more she knew about him the better she'd be able to take care of him.

When they'd been back at Trinity for about a week Sydney sent Nigel home early. She'd noticed how exhausted he looked having worked until midnight the previous two evenings. Having the office to herself, Claudia being off sick, she decided it was now or never and picked up the phone to call George Bally.

"Hi Bally" she said "it's Sydney, how're you?"

"Hello Sydney! I'm very well, how are you and how's that rascal Nigel? George asked.

"I'm fine and so is he, but he was really sick a while ago; he had yellow fever but luckily he's fully recovered now" she said.

"Oh my goodness! Poor boy! I knew he'd been ill but Louisa Wright told me he had the flu. I guess the truth was kept from her; otherwise she'd have been out of her mind with worry! Me too actually! Thank God he's recovered from it!" George said.

"Yes, he certainly had me worried for a while too!" she replied.

"Have you been on any good relic hunts lately Sydney?" George asked.

"Actually Bally, yes we have, we found the Rune Stone of Jann the Bold, along with all the treasure he'd plundered! It was a fantastic find! Sydney said enthusiastically.

"I bet young Nigel helped a lot with that, didn't he?" George asked.

"He certainly did Bally; he's brilliant, he went beyond the call of duty on that one!" Sydney replied, thinking about Nigel at the nude spa and wondering just how she was going to approach George with her questions about Nigel's past.

"Are you just calling for a chat Sydney, or for something specific? It's just that Louisa Wright is here at the moment and I don't want to neglect her, Alice is out at the dentist" he said.

"Oh sorry, I won't keep you too long; I'm actually ringing about Nigel. I need to ask you something but I don't want you to get upset, even though it's not particularly nice what I'm about to say, OK Bally? Sydney said, almost holding her breath!

"Um, alright, I guess so" he responded, feeling very worried indeed.

"BalIy, I need to know if you knew that Nigel had been very badly beaten when he was fifteen and has some horrific scars on his butt?" she said.

"What! No I didn't! I've never smacked him or physically hurt him in any way; he was almost always a very good boy! It must have happened before he moved in with Alice and me!" George said, really worried, but not wanting to blame Preston, although that thought did cross his mind.

"Don't worry Bally, he was beaten at school" Sydney said very quickly, so that he'd realise she wasn't blaming him.

"Oh, that's terrible! No wonder he was so nervous if anyone got angry with him. He never told me about it Sydney, but I wish he had" he said, feeling quite glad that it wasn't Preston that had thrashed Nigel so badly! George went on "you know I did have to undress him once, but I had to do it in the dark as the light bulb blew, otherwise I'm sure I'd have noticed."

"Bally, the reason why I'm ringing is I need to know if there's anything else I should be aware of about Nigel. He's absolutely the most brilliant assistant I've ever had, bar none, but I really have a horrible feeling he's had some awful things happen to him in the past" Sydney said, very seriously.

"Well Sydney, he used to have terrible nightmares when he lived with us; but he'd never tell us about them. We assumed he was dreaming about the death of his parents because we'd hear him sobbing and calling out mummy and daddy" George said, wishing now he'd been more insistent. The only other thing I can think of that upset him to any extent was his brother; he had problems with him but I would prefer you to speak to Nigel personally about that."

"I know about the nightmares Bally, he had some really nasty ones when he had yellow fever, poor kid; I'll have to ask him about his brother one day, but a thought has just struck me; do you know how his parent's died?" she asked.

George explained what happened and Sydney felt awful because, she'd always assumed they'd died separately, of natural causes. She'd always avoided talking to Nigel about this because he was so sensitive; she thought he'd get upset. Once George had finished telling her what happened he said "Sydney, you sound quite worried about Nigel, are you sure he's alright?"

"He's fine Bally; it's just that when I found out about that vicious beating he'd received it made me wonder what else had happened to him when he was a boy that might be causing him to have nightmares and make him so shy and nervous. I'm not just being nosey; I really want to know, just in case he needs my advice on anything. Obviously, the more I know about him the better prepared I'll be to advise Anyway Bally, I'll let you get back to Alice and Mrs Wright, and thanks for your input, I guess unless Nigel actually tells us something, neither one of us is going to know what's really going on in that brilliant head of his. I'll speak to you soon, bye" she said and put the phone down.

She realised that she'd just have to wait for Nigel to open up to her, but in the meantime she'd have to be very careful when advising him about anything.

**PLEASE REVIEW: That was a very long chapter, it took me ages to write! The next one is much shorter and you'll read about Mika's visit, more about his relationship with Sydney and you'll also read a little about Cate and Nicole.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

**Girls and Relic Hunting **

About three weeks after they came back from Sweden, Roberto, a young football player, from Italy, requested Sydney's help to find Casanova's Book of Love. After a lot persuasion from the charming young man, Sydney agreed and they all flew to Italy to begin the search. Having found some clues at a Casanova exhibition they located the book, which was then stolen from them by some monks! Sydney and Nigel were able to trace them to a monastery where, unfortunately, the monks captured them and were going to seal them up in a chamber. These monks apparently collected erotic objects, which they then exorcised; believing them to be the work of the Devil! Sydney was very curious about this and asked "what do you do with all the issues of Playboy and Penthouse, not to mention all those really nasty ones?" Nigel piped up "Lusty Leather Girls!" Sydney stared at him with her mouth wide open, completely disgusted; she couldn't believe that young Nigel would be reading such sordid material! He looked very sheepish and stuttered "I…I was um told um... it's particularly vulgar." They were in a sticky situation, so she didn't question him on it. The monks, as it turned out, were not concerned with modern day erotic objects; just the ancient ones. Having heard the monk's explanation about exorcising relics, Sydney made it quite clear they were not going to be sealed up anywhere and she, Nigel and Roberto, who had been captured separately, fought their way out; Nigel retrieving the book before they did.

It had always been Sydney's intention to give the book to Roberto; if she found it, as he so desperately wanted it; believing it could teach him how to be more sexually appealing to women. However, she could tell that Roberto's manager, Kate, was totally in love with him and because of this she believed he didn't need it. By the time they'd found the relic, Roberto realised that Sydney was right; Kate did love him. He also realised that he loved her too and the "sex manual" which in effect was what the book was, would not be required. Feeling grateful to Sydney for finding the book and for helping to bring him and Kate together, he gave it to her. She could hardly believe her luck and decided to take it back to America, at least for the time being, to study it!

On the flight home Sydney decided to confront Nigel about his appalling comment at the monastery. He was so embarrassed and said "I've never read anything like that Syd... honestly. I would have been beaten black and blue if I'd have been caught with a dirty magazine at school and I wouldn't have dared have one at home! Derek Lloyd showed me that magazine when we flew back from Peru, I think he wanted to shock me, which he did! I only saw a couple of pictures; that was enough!"

"You had me worried there for a minute Nigel! I'm glad you haven't started looking at such disgusting magazines. Imagine what Louisa Wright or Alice and George Bally would think if they heard you were reading things like that while you're working for me! I'll beat the crap out of Derek next time I see him!" Sydney said, realising how mortified Nigel was feeling about the whole matter.

Even though Nigel had never actually read a pornographic magazine, he was extremely curious about the "Book of Love" and definitely wanted to have a good look at it. He tried, on a few occasions, to read it and was amazed at the rather imaginative positions couples could get themselves into! Of course, even if Nigel had the opportunity, he would never be bold enough to suggest to a girl that they try something from that book! All he really knew about sex was what the two women he'd slept with had taught him and the things he'd overheard from various people over the years, or seen in the odd movie! In order for him to gain more experience, sexually, he'd need to feel completely at ease with a girl, which his embarrassment with regard to his scarring often prevented.

On the same day as they returned to America, Nigel received a voicemail message from Mika saying she'd be arriving in Boston the following day! Nigel's phone had been switched off while they were in Italy so he only got the message as they landed. He called her back immediately and explained the problem; confirming that he'd meet her at the airport. Sydney allowed him to go straight home, instead of stopping off at Trinity, to enable him to prepare his apartment for his guest.

The next day he met Mika at the airport; he was very excited to see her and hoped she felt the same. She obviously did because as soon as she saw him she threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly; Nigel did the same and welcomed her to America. He'd arranged for a limousine to pick them up at the airport to take them to his apartment; realising how tired she'd be on arrival and wanting her to feel special. She was very impressed but told him he shouldn't be spending his hard earned money this way, believing that all he had to live on was his teaching assistant's salary.

As Nigel had to work the following day he arranged for Mika to go shopping in Boston with Fred's daughter, who was a similar age and loved to shop. Nigel, in fact, had to work most of the week, as he and Sydney were extra busy grading midterm papers. He wasn't too happy about that, but he knew he couldn't leave Sydney to do it alone. Sydney, however, had every intention of allowing him to go home early each day to enable him to enjoy Mika's visit, realising just how little time Nigel had had to socialise since he started working for her.

One morning Nigel arrived at work, obviously in a lot of pain; he was limping, holding his groin and asking for aspirin! Sydney, who up to that point wasn't sure if he was a virgin, assumed now that he wasn't and that he'd been trying out some sex positions from Casanova's book with Mika! She was rather pleased for him, especially as she approved of her. The truth was he'd slipped on the bathroom floor and almost did the splits! As Nigel was rather embarrassed about what had actually happened he let Sydney believe she was right, even telling her what page they'd used from the book! He felt a bit guilty about that because he and Mika were not having that sort of relationship at all.

Nigel and Mika got on really well as friends and went out to the cinema and a few nice restaurants. Mika, however, liked night clubs; which she had little time for at home, so Nigel said he'd take her. He knew he wouldn't enjoy it, as he hated loud music and had never learned to dance. Never having actually gone to a night club before, he had no idea what to wear and asked Mika to help him with that. She chose a pale blue shirt and some designer jeans, which hugged his hips and made him look extra gorgeous. She told him straight out how sexy he looked which made him smile and blush!

When they got to the club the doorman immediately asked Nigel if he was twenty one, to which he replied "no, I'm twenty two." The doorman looked very sceptical and insisted he provided ID. Nigel took out his college identity card and a photocopy of his passport; which he'd recently started carrying for situations like this. The doorman let him in and jokingly said "you behave yourself young man, I don't want to have to call the riot police to you!" He then patted him on the head, like he was a little boy, causing Nigel's face go red again, although he hoped the darkness of the club would hide it.

Nigel jigged around the dance floor with Mika, who told him not to look so worried; he was doing fine. He began to loosen up a bit, re ealising she was actually enjoying his company; they even held hands as they danced. After about half an hour they'd both had enough and sat down at a table to rest and have a drink. Neither of them wanted alcohol, preferring orange juice and lemonade, as they both felt really thirsty after their energetic bopping.

Unfortunately, there were two rather large drunken men at the club who kept trying, quite rudely, to get Mika to come over and dance with them. When she refused, saying she was with her boyfriend, the men decided to pick a fight with Nigel! One of them picked him up by the seat of his trousers and the back of his shirt, and threw him over some chairs! Nigel was quite stunned but he managed to get up, just as the two men were dragging Mika off towards the bar. Nigel ran after them, grabbed hold of the arm of one man and tried to make him let go of her. Unfortunately, the man swung around and hit Nigel hard in the stomach, which took his breath away, causing him to fall to the floor and curl up in pain! Just then the manager of the club came over with two rather tough looking security guards; having been alerted that there was a scuffle going on near the bar. On seeing Mika struggling with the two large men and Nigel on the floor, they immediately realised what was happening. One of the guards picked Nigel up and sat him on a large couch, out of the way, and then rushed with the other guard to Mika's rescue. They grabbed hold of the two men, threw them out of the door and told them they were permanently banned.

Luckily both of the guards were trained in first aid and one checked out Nigel, in case he'd been seriously hurt; while the other looked after Mika.

Nigel cringed in pain as the guard touched his stomach to check if he was hurt. However, as he'd been punched before, when rival relic hunters attacked him and Sydney; he knew he'd be fine in a day or two and said "I'm alright Sir, but I've lost my friend!" He looked really worried and tried to get up, realising he hadn't seen Mika since he'd been hit.

"Sit still kid, she's fine" the guard said, pushing him back on the couch "she's with my partner, she'll probably have a few bruises on her arms tomorrow, but she's not seriously hurt. You on the other hand are kind of small to be fighting with guys like that, are you absolutely certain you don't need a doctor? I can drive you to the hospital, if necessary" he said, looking at Nigel to see if he appeared concussed.

"No, I don't need a doctor, I'm alright, really I am, thanks for helping me" Nigel said, feeling a little shaky. Just then Mika, who'd been talking to the manager and the other guard while Nigel was being attended to, came over to see if he was alright. She was relieved to see that he looked fine; apart from his hair, which was falling all over his face. She was very impressed that Nigel, even though he was about half the size of those men, tried to help her and gave him a huge kiss, causing Nigel to blush scarlet, once again, but feel very happy, even though his stomach felt a little tender.

The week went by so quickly and Mika, who needed to be careful with her money, refused to take advantage of Nigel's generosity. She insisted on paying her share of the bill when ate out and bought some groceries, when they ate in. Nigel had omitted to mention that he was financially well off, as he didn't want anyone to know, even Sydney. He initially took the money she gave him, so as not to embarrass her and then, just before she left, he put $200 in her suitcase with a note that said "please use this for books sweetheart; love Nigel."

When Mika had gone he felt quite sad as she'd been really good company and was a genuinely lovely person. She'd made him feel very at ease and, unfortunately, he was beginning to fall for her. He'd been a perfect gentleman though; never once attempting to take advantage of her, which she really appreciated, although she had no idea how inexperienced Nigel actually was with women, or that he was starting to feel more for her than she did for him!

Sydney and Claudia both noticed how sad Nigel looked after Mika had returned home and did their best to cheer him up. Claudia, who was very supportive for a change, took him over a nice cup of English tea and a muffin and placed them on his desk. This gesture made him feel a little better as it showed that, deep down, she actually cared. This was important to him as he'd made so few friends since he'd been in America; never being around long enough to get to know anyone. He often felt homesick and missed Nanny Wright, Uncle George and Aunty Alice a lot, especially when he was sick. Sydney, on the other hand, had lots of friends from the past, who still visited her when she was home, so having to constantly leave the country to go relic hunting, didn't affect her the same way.

A couple of weeks after Mika went home Sydney had a visit from Molly, an old friend of hers, who wanted Sydney to help her find the lost crown of King Brian Boru of Ireland. She told Sydney that an internet acquaintance of hers, Sean Bolger, had discovered a piece of an ancient poem and had convinced her that it could lead to whereabouts of the crown. The verse was written in middle Gaelic and as soon as Molly gave it to Sydney, she passed it straight to Nigel, whom she'd noticed he had that look in his eye again that said "I like this girl!" Realising how shy Nigel could be, she thought it would be a good idea to let him show off his skill with this ancient language, believing it would make Molly notice him, although Molly already had and thought he was cute!

As Nigel's relationship with Mika had not turned to romance, they were both free to pursue other people. Sydney thought that Molly was just the kind of girl that Nigel needed, as she was very sweet, although quite outspoken, which she felt would be good for him. However, when they were in Ireland searching for the crown, Molly took a shine to Garrett O'Donnell, whose ancestors were wrongly accused of being traitors to the King. Unfortunately, Molly paid little attention to Nigel once Garrett was on the scene, although she still really liked him as a friend and truly didn't like hurting him this way. Luckily, once they unravelled some further clues about the crown, they proved that the O'Donnell's were not traitors, but heroes, and were actually the protectors of the crown of King Boru! They eventfully found the relic and Sydney stayed in Ireland to arrange for it to be put in a museum, while Nigel flew home to America with Molly.

Sydney had arranged, over the phone, for Molly to take over some of her classes at Trinity, enabling her to stay in Ireland a little longer. Lucky for Nigel, Molly had to leave Garrett there too!

Once they'd been home a couple of days Molly agreed to go on a date with Nigel. They went to a lovely restaurant where guitarists serenaded young couples they believed to be in love. They both blushed when the musicians came to their table and Molly commented that the restaurant was just perfect and held onto Nigel's hand, causing him to think she liked the idea of being in love! They really enjoyed each other's company throughout the whole evening and Nigel began to feel relaxed with her. She was really sweet to him, realising he was actually very shy, when it came to girls, and they planned to go out again few days later.

Unfortunately, on the same day as their second date, Garrett decided to fly over from Ireland to see Molly and asked her to go out with him. She was rather embarrassed about the situation, having truly believed she'd never see him again. As Garrett had made such a long trip, she decided the simplest thing to do was invite him along on her date with Nigel! Although he didn't show it, Nigel was deeply disappointed that Garrett was joining them; especially as he'd been given no choice in the matter. During dinner Garrett was all over Molly and it was obvious that she really liked him, although she truly hated hurting Nigel by repeating what happened in Ireland. Nigel soon realised he was never going to win her love with Garrett around so he feigned a headache and went home to cry.

Sydney arrived back from Ireland the next day and immediately noticed how unhappy Nigel was. She called him into her office and he explained what had happened, trying hard not to cry again and making a "joke" about his luck with girls. Sydney did her absolute best to console him, which wasn't easy as she could see he was hurting. The conversation ended with Nigel declaring he was having nothing more to do with girls and was going to concentrate on more important things, like his education!

When Nigel had originally accepted the position at Trinity, he had an agreement with the college, and Sydney, that he would be permitted time to study for his master's degree. However, once he'd started working for the professor it appeared she'd forgotten this important matter, as she constantly dragged him off on relic hunts and kept him late at work. Although he was learning lots of amazing things while he travelled the world, he was becoming increasingly unhappy about not having time to study or have a personal life. Being so shy, and because he knew Sydney needed his extensive knowledge on relic hunts, it took him a long time to pluck up the courage to face her with the problem. Of course, when he did Sydney felt terrible; realising that Nigel must have been thinking about this for quite a while before approaching her with it. Because she cared about him very much; thinking of him more as a younger brother than an employee, she did everything she could to make amends and promised she'd help him in every way she could with regard to his studies.

The first thing she decided was that she wouldn't drag him off on any unnecessary hunts, which pleased Nigel, although he realised he would still have to go on some. He was actually quite happy about that, as he didn't want to give up relic hunting completely; he just wanted to be able to study sometimes. Sydney promised that even when they were on relic hunts together; he could still study and get information off the internet by using his laptop.

Realising she was going to miss Nigel's company and his knowledge, when she went on a hunt alone, she asked him if he'd mind her calling him to do research, answer questions or get information. Nigel, of course, said he'd be glad to help, although he secretly hoped that it wouldn't be too time consuming!

From then on Nigel used every spare moment he had to study, attend seminars and simply read the books he'd had shipped from England; something he'd really missed. With the help of Sydney, and a couple of other professors, he was soon able to show just how brilliant he was.

All this studying, relic hunting and work at Trinity helped keep his mind off the girls he'd lost, although he still occasionally thought about them. He tried to convince himself that he didn't want a girlfriend at all; although he knew deep down that he did, he was just afraid of getting hurt again. Sometimes he couldn't avoid seeing beautiful girls; like when he attended lectures. The lecture hall would often be full of attractive females and it was at those times he started to notice a very pretty French student, whose name was Nicole. She was rather petite and made him feel quite tall for a change. He was far too shy to approach her to discuss the lecture or anything else, although he'd noticed her looking at him too. At first she didn't say anything to him, except "hello", although she occasionally waved and smiled. He eventually plucked up the courage to speak to her, although his shyness held him back to the point where he got quite annoyed with himself. He knew he should just really go for it, as she was obviously attracted to him and was most likely waiting to be asked out. However, his fear of being hurt and his timidity prevented him from doing so, although he knew he'd probably kick himself later!

When Nicole started to write her thesis Nigel thought he'd probably never see her again and had missed his chance of a date. As luck would have it, Nicole approached Sydney to help her find an ancient marriage document that would prove, once and for all, who the rightful owner of the village was where Nicole grew up. Nicole wanted to prevent the village from being sold and turned into a leisure resort and Sydney was very happy to help; as was Nigel, in fact, he could hardly wait to get to France to see her again!

Once they got there they met up with Nicole who explained she was only able to find one room in the village for all three of them; which really pleased Nigel! Nicole greeted him with a kiss on both cheeks; and feeling quite brave, he tried to make up for lost time by getting rid Sydney and making a move on Nicole! This was something he'd never done before and he rather surprised himself! He tried to remember what his two other sexual partners had taught him and began to feel a little more confident, although he couldn't help worrying about his scars. However, although he and Nicole had been together in the huge double bed a few times, nothing really happened as Nicole felt it was wrong for them to have sex, explaining that she didn't want to build a relationship with him on lust. She really did like him though and promised that she'd come to America to see him to enable them to get to know each other better. Nigel, realising she was quite correct, agreed and felt quite embarrassed that he'd acted so out of character.

Although Nigel was unsuccessful in making love to Nicole, the hunt itself went brilliantly, they found the marriage document and the village was saved.

Nicole flew back to America to see Nigel about a month later and he picked her up from the airport. However, after two weeks she told him she was missing France terribly and as much as she really liked him, she wanted to go home; explaining, quite sadly, that she couldn't see a long distance relationship lasting. He'd been a perfect gentleman her entire trip, not wanting to make the same mistake he'd made in France, but he couldn't make her stay.

He saw her off at the airport and felt truly heartbroken; immediately ringing Sydney for moral support. Unfortunately, he had to leave a message on her voicemail advising he wasn't feeling well and would be back at work as soon as possible. Sydney, on hearing his message, guessed the real reason he needed time off and rang him right away. She could tell by his voice he'd been crying and said "any girl would be so lucky to have you as a boyfriend Nigel." She continued "one of these days you'll find the right girl, but you're far too young to be thinking so seriously about anyone just yet. I know you really like Nicole, but unless you're prepared to go and live in France, you'll have to let her go. I can think of at least ten girls at this college who would love to go out with you!" Nigel thanked her for caring and said "you're right Syd; I know you are, I just really like her so much, she's so wonderful and I know she genuinely likes me for who I am, she just doesn't want to live in America."

"Nigel any girl who doesn't like you needs her head looking at, now try to get some sleep and I'll see you in a day or two" she said gently. Nigel wiped away his tears and fell asleep on the sofa.

During the next few months Nigel studied even harder to try and keep his mind off Molly, Nicole and Mika; occasionally speaking to Mika over the phone to find out how she was doing at university. She loved it but one day she told him she was dating a fellow student and that it was getting quite serious. Nigel felt a little jealous, although he was also pleased for her, realising that she was actually only a friend and was free to date whoever she wanted. He wished her good luck, never for a minute letting on that he felt a little more for her than friendship.

A couple of days after Mika told Nigel about her romance, he was feeling a little low, thinking everyone had someone to love but him. Sydney noticed he'd been rather quiet for a while and asked him what was wrong; although from experience she guessed what it was. When he told her how he felt she tried to cheer him up by saying how smart and good looking he was and that he was bound to meet someone else soon. She was about to give him a reassuring hug when Claudia walked into the office with a guy called Mark Lane, who was a retired archaeologist. Mark, who'd known Sydney for years, explained that he'd been given a map which, if interpreted correctly, could lead to the whereabouts of the vessel of the Mochica tribe. This vessel, which had been lost for thirteen hundred years, supposedly held the spirit of a warrior who protected the doomed and would be an incredible find. Knowing he could trust Sydney he asked her to look for it, as ill health prevented him from doing so himself. As soon as Mark showed her the map, and explained what his research had revealed, she jumped at the chance of finding such an amazing relic. As luck would have it, one of the things that Nigel had been studying was the Mochica tribe; so Sydney knew he possessed extensive knowledge of them and could speak a little of their language. However, there was one problem, they lived in Peru, where Nigel had contracted yellow fever and was almost killed by a landmine. She knew she couldn't undertake this hunt alone, but believed she had no right to insist that Nigel goes with her. Sensing her anxiety, Nigel made it easy for her by volunteering his services; which he hoped would show her how mature and professional he could be, even when he was feeling depressed. Sydney thanked him and explained that she'd understand if he changed his mind, although she couldn't help hoping he wouldn't! To put her mind at rest he told her that he'd recently joined a gym and was getting a lot stronger; however, he left out the fact that he'd only been there twice so far!

While they were in Peru some really awful things happened to them; including being in a plane crash and getting attacked by rival relic hunters and rebel soldiers! However, the one good thing about this particular hunt, apart from the fact that they found the vessel and released the spirit of the warrior to its rightful place, was that Nigel met Cate Hemphill, a beautiful Interpol agent. Nigel was not immediately attracted to Cate; but she certainly grew on him. When they first met Cate pretended to be a missionary; whilst Nigel said he and Sydney were history teachers. He noticed how pretty she was from the start, when she begged for a lift; her car having broken down. She had to sit on Nigel's lap while he was in the sidecar of Sydney's motorcycle; that being the only way they could accommodate her.

Initially Nigel was very wary of her as he discovered she carried a gun. He later realised she was physically stronger and quite a bit older than him, although she was also very patient and kind; particularly towards Hans Lubeck, an elderly gentleman, who'd been injured when their plane crashed. It was her kindness to Hans that eventually attracted him to her, along with the fact that she was very calm, even in dangerous situations and was, obviously, very intelligent.

At one point the rebel soldiers who'd taken them prisoner put Cate, Hans and Nigel in front of a firing squad! Luckily Sydney, who'd earlier become separated from them, attacked the soldiers and rescued them. Unfortunately, Hans, who Nigel had become very fond of, was killed while they were trying to make their escape; which Nigel found extremely distressing. He could no longer hide the way he felt about the terrifying ordeal he'd been through and quietly cried as he leaned against Sydney in the back of a truck; Cate doing the driving to try and outrun the rebels.

Even though Sydney had been though a terrible time herself, whilst separated from Nigel, the thought that he'd almost been killed again deeply upset her. She did, however, manage to keep her emotions under control until they reached safety; where she hugged him very tightly and said "Nigel I'm so sorry I let this happen to you" her heart going out to him as she saw the anguish on his face.

Nigel was desperately trying to hold back his tears, knowing that Cate was watching them and said "Syd it wasn't your fault, the soldiers just overwhelmed us; but I knew you'd save us!"

Two days later they were on the flight back home and Nigel and Cate really hit it off. Nigel told Cate some stories about the hunts he'd been on with Sydney; although he left out a few facts so he wouldn't look so weak. Sydney watched Nigel squirm when Cate told him about her career with Interpol; describing the nasty things she'd had to do, although omitting anything classified. Sydney could see Nigel falling for Cate right before her eyes and began to worry that he might, once again, get hurt when Cate had to leave, or go on a dangerous mission. She did, however, like her very much; as it wasn't often she ran into another woman who was as strong as she was. She also considered that Cate could probably teach her young assistant a thing or two about life, but deep down she thought she was probably too old for him, as even though he was almost twenty three; he was still very naive.

When they arrived back in Boston Cate and Nigel kissed and Cate said "I have to go and get debriefed now Nigel, but call me, I'm free for a couple weeks after that."

"Oh I will Cate, bye" he said, thinking he could hardly wait to see her again!

As it was a Friday afternoon Sydney immediately sent Nigel home, telling him to get some rest and that she would call him in the morning. She'd deliberately shared a room with him the last two nights in Peru; convinced that he'd have nightmares and would need a shoulder to cry on. She was glad she decided to do this as he woke up screaming both nights! When Nigel got back to his apartment all he could really think about was Cate and he went to sleep hoping he would dream about her. Unfortunately, he had one of the worst nights he could remember and woke up soaking wet and shaking with fear! However, he didn't call Sydney; not wishing to keep disturbing her sleep, he called John Baines, as he'd done so on many other occasions since he'd first met him; although he didn't tell Sydney about this. He still didn't want to discuss his dreams with her, as mostly they were about his life at school or at home, when he was a child or a teenager; which he still found difficult to talk about. He believed, however, he'd get over this one day, with the help of John Baines, and would then be able to discuss anything with Sydney; he just wasn't at that stage quite yet.

During the weekend Nigel called Cate several times, leaving many messages on her voicemail; which she never returned. He felt really dejected, although when Sydney called to check on him, as promised, he only briefly mentioned it; making out it was no big deal, although Sydney knew him well enough to tell he was upset. Unfortunately, by Monday, when he went into work, he was really down in the dumps, which Claudia immediately noticed. She'd already heard from Sydney that Nigel had "fallen in love again" and began to question him about his weekend. He was in the middle of telling her how the woman he likes had not returned his calls, when suddenly who should come out of Sydney's office, but Cate! She'd been there all along and Claudia knew it, she just wanted to torture him!

Claudia and Sydney left the two of them alone and Cate explained that the reason she'd not contacted him was she wanted to see if they could make a fresh start, with no lies or deception. With the explanation complete she sat on his lap and they kissed very passionately. Nigel was soon feeling on top of the world and asked Cate to go out with him later. She instantly accepted, which caused Nigel to give her one of his most gorgeous smiles, making Cate's heart skip a beat!

He let Cate choose exactly where she'd like to go on their first date and she chose a really expensive restaurant situated at the top of a skyscraper, with beautiful views of Boston. Unfortunately, to get to the restaurant, you had to go up in a glass lift, which was on the outside of the building! Nigel was petrified as they ascended to the top floor, causing Cate to roar with laughter as she watched him shake and pin himself to the side of the lift!

They had a really nice dinner; Nigel sparing no expense, which rather surprised Cate who noticed the cost of the dinner didn't seem to worry him at all. He ordered some wine, which cost $85 a bottle, having been advised by the waiter it was a very good year and would go very well with the food they'd chosen. The waiter poured a large glass for Cate and, at his request, a small one for Nigel, who knew it would make him feel less inhibited but wouldn't make him tipsy. Later on, however, Cate poured out two further glasses and Nigel proposed a toast, saying "to the Mochicas for bringing us together!" They tapped their glasses and Nigel smiled as he looked lovingly into Cate's eyes; drinking his wine at the same time. Unfortunately, just as he'd feared would happen, after drinking a second and then a third glass; Cate believing it would just loosen him up, he got drunk. In fact he could hardly walk by the time they were ready to leave the restaurant! Cate took him by the arm and held him tightly as they descended to the ground in the glass lift. There were plenty of taxis outside the building, so within minutes they were on their way to the apartment Cate always used when she was in Boston. The apartment, which was actually owned by Interpol, could be used by any of their agents. It was much closer to the restaurant than Nigel's home, so they went there first. When they arrived Nigel asked the driver to wait while he attempted to walk Cate to the front door, which he just about managed. They kissed but as Nigel was almost asleep on his feet, she didn't ask him in. "Thanks for a lovely evening Nigel, give me a call" she said, as Nigel staggered back to the taxi. He arrived at his apartment thirty minutes later, having fallen deeply asleep in the back of the cab. The driver waved at the doorman, hoping he'd come out to assist him with his very sleepy passenger. He came out immediately and was rather surprised to see it was Nigel; who'd only moved into this building two months before as his lease had expired on his previous apartment and the college wanted it back. The doorman found Nigel's wallet, paid the driver, then carried him to his apartment; leaving a receipt for the taxi fare on the table. He didn't really mind doing this for Nigel, as he liked him; they'd often spent the odd half hour chatting about the problems of the world.

The following day, once Nigel had gotten over his hangover, he was in a very good mood; which Sydney couldn't help but notice.

"So how was your date with Cate then?" she enquired, looking at his cheerful expression.

"It was wonderful, mostly" he said, thinking about the scene in the lift and the fact that he felt like a fool when he got drunk. He hoped, however, he hadn't done anything too stupid, as his memory of that part of the evening was rather blurred.

"Are you going out with her again?" she asked, hoping he'd say yes, even though she didn't think Cate was quite right for him.

"Um, I guess I'll have to call her" he said, looking at the phone on his desk. He picked it up, dialled her number and got her voicemail, so he left a message for her to ring him and thanked her for a wonderful evening. By the end of the day Cate had not returned his call, so he called again. By the next evening he'd still not heard from her and began to feel very despondent. However, the following day she called him at Trinity and asked him out! He was a little annoyed she'd taken so long to call him back, but she explained she'd been busy with work.

That evening they went to a lovely restaurant in the countryside where the setting was really romantic. They'd had a great meal and he only drank half a glass of wine, so he was sociable, but not tipsy. They walked around to the back of the restaurant and kissed under the moonlight; Nigel thinking he hadn't been this happy in ages. All of a sudden his eyes started to water, his breathing became difficult and he felt really awful. He immediately knew what it was; they were stood near a paddock where there were three horses! He'd not noticed them until he got the allergic reaction and Cate could hardly believe what was happening. She ran into the restaurant and called an ambulance which arrived within twenty minutes. Nigel tried to explain to the paramedics what was wrong, although they could tell immediately what it was and proceeded to treat him. He was soon feeling much better, but was very annoyed with himself as he'd not thought to put his antihistamines in his pocket. Doctor Baines told him he must keep them with him, especially on relic hunts or when he went out into the countryside; he guessed his excitement at having another date with Cate made him forget.

He apologised to Cate for spoiling the evening and she drove him home, telling him it was fine; she'd enjoyed the evening. Nigel felt so embarrassed and the following day called her to apologise again. It, once again, went to voicemail and she didn't return his call. He tried several more times but she didn't reply. However, two weeks later Nigel got a message from her on his voicemail saying how sorry she was that she'd not got back to him before but she was on an assignment with Interpol. She also asked him to call her in a couple of weeks, when she hoped to be back, although she wasn't sure if she would be.

Nigel decided he wouldn't call her, assuming this was just her way of letting him down gently and that she wasn't really interested in him anymore. She'd never made him feel completely at ease, without alcohol, like his other girlfriends had, and this way he thought he'd save her from having to dump him; believing that's what she'd do the next time they met anyway.

Over the next few months, although Sydney tried to leave Nigel at Trinity as much as possible, they still went on quite a few hunts together. Unfortunately, Nigel had some awful experiences on these hunts, which scared the life out of him. He often tried to help Sydney when they were attacked; believing it would show her he was maturing and could look after himself much better now. He sometimes, however, inadvertently made things worse, which caused Sydney to tell him that unless he was absolutely sure he could win; he should stay out of the way. She explained that she thought he simply wasn't built to be a fighter, or strong enough to be able to fight the thugs, or even some of the rival relic hunters, who attacked them. He knew she was right, as he still hadn't gone back to the gym, but sometimes he had no choice but to fight, as their attackers went directly for him! In a lot of these situations, if it hadn't been for Sydney, he wouldn't have seen another day! She would rescue him and ask if he was alright, he would always say yes, even if he wasn't, and then they'd get on with the hunt. More often than not, when Sydney rescued him, she appeared to be very cold and acted like she didn't care what had happened to him. Nigel, however, knew she cared; just like he cared for her, and at the first possible time, when they were safe, or had found the relic they were after, she would try to reassure him that she'd always look after him.

Of course there are always exceptions to the rule and on one occasion Nigel saved Sydney's life by killing a man! This happened when they went to New Orleans where she was attacked by Auguste Devereaux, who was an evil and powerful man, who practiced voodoo. Nigel, upon seeing Devereaux trying to strangle her, rushed over and stabbed him the heart. As he realised what he'd done, Sydney could see the horror on his face, however, she couldn't allow either of them to fall apart at that moment as they were still in great danger. Later on, however, as she saw Nigel just staring out of the hotel window, with tears in his eyes, she put her arms around him, held him tight and said "Nigel, thank you so much for saving my life, I'll never forget what you did for me. I know it's hard to come to terms with killing someone but you had no choice. I wouldn't be here now if you hadn't killed Devereaux!" She kept hugging him and patting his back and as he blinked away the tears he said "I know."

About six weeks after they returned from New Orleans Cate Hemphill contacted Sydney as she needed someone with her knowledge of relics to assist her with a sting operation. Nigel was very uneasy about the whole thing as Cate had told him some frightening stories about the criminals she'd set up in the past. He looked at Sydney and with a very worried expression on his face said "Syd, please don't do it! Interpol are not just involved in putting pickpockets in jail you know, they're after really tough criminals who wouldn't think twice about killing you!"

"I'll be fine Nigel; I'll be wearing a wire, Cate will be able to hear everything that's going on" she said, smiling at him, touched by his concern.

"A wire's not a bulletproof vest Syd! Don't you understand how dangerous this will be!" he said, getting quite agitated.

"Nigel I'm a martial arts expert, I can protect myself, you've seen me fight hundreds of times!" she replied, wondering why he was getting so upset.

"What would you say if she'd asked me to help her with this?" he asked, quite seriously.

"Is that why you're so upset, because she didn't ask you?" she said, hoping she was wrong, because she thought he was over Cate.

"No of course it's not, I just don't want you to get hurt; she knows I'd be useless anyway" he said, really believing this was how Cate felt about him.

"She wouldn't think you were useless Nigel, she just wouldn't want to put you in any danger… unless you worked out more, or became a lot tougher." she said, hoping he would understand that Cate needed someone who not only knew a lot about antiquities but who could also kick butt!

"Yes Yes, I guess you're right but I still don't think you should do it!" he said, trying hard to convince her, as he was truly worried for her safety.

Sydney put her arm around his shoulder and said very gently "I'll be back before you know it." She picked up her jacket, then looked deep in thought for a second and said "by the way, I'd lock you in your room before I'd let you go on a mission with Cate!" and quickly left the office. Nigel's heart sank; there was simply nothing he could do to stop her.

Once Sydney was in New York, where the sting operation was to take place, Cate fixed the wire to her and gave her a valuable Faberge Egg to use as bait, having first placed it in a box. Unfortunately, while Sydney was in the process trapping the criminal, she was abducted; not by him, as the egg was left behind, but by someone else, who Sydney obviously recognised, but didn't identify by name. Cate, who'd been listening in, tried really hard to hear what was going on, but it was useless, the kidnapper was completely silent.

Cate felt terrible and was desperate to get Sydney back but had no idea who'd taken her. Her only hope now was to see if Nigel and Claudia could up with the names of Sydney's enemies.

Nigel felt very awkward as Cate walked into the office, but he tried not to show it. He told her how uneasy he'd been from the start about Sydney being used in such a way. However, Cate was quick to point out that the abduction had nothing to do with the sting operation; someone else obviously knew where she was. She told him that Sydney had recognised the kidnapper, but hadn't mentioned his name; explaining it was now up to him to think who it might be.

Nigel acted very professionally and got down to business, explaining he'd do everything he could to assist her. He and Claudia gave Cate the names of as many of Sydney's adversaries as they could think of and they systematically went through every name. They then eliminated name after name as Interpol provided information on whether or not a particular person was alive, dead, in prison or could possibly be in New York where Sydney was abducted.

As they were working so hard Claudia went out to buy some food; giving Nigel the opportunity to say to Cate "I've missed you."

"So why didn't you call me then" she said, obviously rather upset.

"I don't know, I guess our relationship, if you can call it that, which I don't, well it's never been well…. Normal! Just look at the way we met in Peru, when both of us were pretending to be someone else" he said. Cate then asked him if there was anything romantic going on between him and Sydney to which he replied "no, no, nothing like that, our relationship is strictly platonic." Cate could see in his eyes that he had feelings for Sydney, although she wasn't sure if he thought of her as a big sister or a potential girlfriend.

When Claudia came back in they continued looking for the best possible suspect and eventually came up with the name Edward Patel; who was the leader of the Cult of Kali. They discovered he had an address in New York and believed that Sydney could be being held captive there. Having flown to New York and located the address they started hearing transmissions over the wire which confirmed they'd found her!

Interpol agents and a team of heavily armed police stormed the premises and raided the basement. Cate and Nigel followed them, noting that Sydney had already knocked out Patel. Nigel leapt over a few obstacles to get to Sydney and was overjoyed to see her still in one piece. They hugged for a second and Sydney was so surprised that they'd found her.

Cate set up the sting operation again and on this occasion Sydney was able to trap the criminal, although Nigel stayed with Cate the entire time and Sydney came back safely.

Once the mission was complete Nigel asked Cate if she'd like to go out with him again and she agreed saying "there's one place I'd really like to go with you and that's Six Flags amusement park in Springfield, what do you say we go there tomorrow Nigel, it'll be brilliant fun going on the roller-coasters, don't you think?"

Nigel was very surprised as he'd no idea Cate liked amusement parks. He remembered once seeing a flyer on Claudia's desk advertising Six Flag's latest terrifying ride, along with many others. He'd only ever been to a fun fair when he was little, which was nothing like Six Flags and he didn't go on anything except the Ghost Train! He did, however, like hearing about Sydney's visits to Disneyland and wished they could go there instead; it sounded a lot less scary than Six Flags but was much too far away.

"Um, I'm not sure whether I'd be able to go on any of the rides Cate, so it might be a waste of time and money, let's go and see a movie and then have dinner together instead" he said, hoping she'd agree.

"Oh Nigel I really want to go; it's Saturday tomorrow, so you're not working and I love theme parks" she said, with a pleading look on her face. Nigel thought; how bad could it be? Then he thought again and realised it could be really bad! He did, however, want to please her, as he could see how excited she was at the prospect of going and said "alright, I'll go, but I have to warn you I might be sick if I go on some of the rides."

She picked him up really early the following morning and they drove to the park; stopping three times on the way for Nigel to go to the bathroom; he was getting very nervous! When they got to the park he purchased two tickets and Cate immediately wanted to go on the biggest roller-coaster they had. She dragged him to the end of the queue and was happy to note there would only be a ten minute wait.

"I don't want to go on this Cate, you go on it and I'll wait for you" he said, actually shaking with fear; noticing Cate giving him an annoyed look as he started to walk away.

"Get back here Nigel!" she shouted, her voice sounding so sharp, like Sydney's when she was cross with him. He came back quite quickly and she said "you know I want to ride this with you; you'll love it once it gets going." She held on to his hand and ignored the fear on his face as Nigel stood in the queue; his legs turning to jelly. They were soon boarding the ride and with his heart almost in his mouth, they were off! It went so fast it took Nigel's breath away; it dropped, twisted and then went upside down, causing him to almost lose consciousness! By the time it was over he could hardly stand and he immediately threw up! He was as white as a ghost and had to sit down for half an hour before he could do anything else.

"I'm so sorry Cate but I did tell you I'd probably be ill" he said looking very embarrassed; hoping she wouldn't be too cross.

"I'm sorry too Nigel, I shouldn't have made you go on it, I guess not everyone likes roller-coaters" she said, feeling quite sorry for him. "Do you feel like trying something else?" she asked, hoping he'd say yes, as he looked so much better.

"Yes, but nothing like that please Cate, something a bit calmer would be OK" he said, wondering what they had in the park that would fit that description.

"Let's go on the cup and saucer ride" she said "that's not too rough, it's just over there" she said, pointing to the ride which had just stopped. There was no queue so they walked over and immediately sat inside a large teacup. Nigel, who'd never seen a ride like this before, wondered what was about to happen. As soon as all the cups were occupied the ride started up and the teacup began to spin really fast. Nigel started to feel sick again and recall when he was a small child how the roundabout affected him the same way! He was green by the time it stopped but he managed to get to a grassy area where he vomited again and passed out. This time Cate shouted for help and within a few minutes the park nurse was putting smelling salts under Nigel's nose to bring him round. He soon felt much better but the nurse was adamant that he shouldn't go on anymore rides. Cate asked if he'd like to go home but Nigel, knowing just how much Cate wanted to stay, said he'd be fine.

They enjoyed the rest of the day as they watched several shows on the various stages throughout the park; some making Nigel laugh so much his sides began to ache. Even though he'd hated the rides, everything else about the day was fantastic, especially being with Cate. She was very happy being with him too and was glad to see his more relaxed side. She'd never seen him laugh so much and sat there for a while just looking at him, thinking how good looking he was, yet how innocent he looked. She, of course, had no idea he was only twenty three, thinking as Sydney had when she first met him; he must be older than he looks to have so much knowledge and to be a relic hunter.

Nigel commented that theme parks were completely new to him, as even though they have them in England, he'd never been to one. As Cate listened to him, it suddenly occurred to her that he'd probably missed out on quite a few things as a child; believing his family must have been poor. Of course, that wasn't correct it was just that Nigel was a bookworm and got sick very easily, plus his parents died when he was young. He didn't actually explain any of this to her though, as he wasn't comfortable talking about his childhood.

Cate came to the conclusion that what Nigel really needed was a few days off to simply chill out and asked if he'd like to spend a few days at the beach with her. Nigel was delighted and said he'd love to, but he wasn't sure he could get time off work at such short notice. However, when he checked with Sydney she was fine about it, until he revealed he was going there with Cate.

"Nigel" she said "be careful, don't go rushing into things with her this time, remember she's a lot older than you and she's tough; I don't want to see you with a broken heart again, just take it a bit slower, OK?"

"Sydney you worry about me too much, I'm a lot tougher than you think; anyway she won't break my heart, she likes me too much, otherwise she'd never have asked me to go away with her" he said, rather pleased with himself.

"Alright Nigel I hope you're right, have a wonderful time, bring me back something nice please and put on plenty of sun block!" she said, trying to make light of the situation. She simply couldn't help but worry that if things went wrong between him and Cate, Nigel would be devastated. Of course, she realised that Nigel was a young man and that his private life was none of her business. However, he was still very shy and naïve and he fell in love far too easily, causing her to feel she must protect him.

When Cate and Nigel reached the beach they booked into a beautiful hotel. They'd gotten separate rooms; Cate realising that Nigel wasn't quite ready to sleep with her just yet; although she had no idea why. She considered it must be shyness and his upbringing that made him act this way; although she hoped he'd soon come knocking on her door!

That first evening they sat looking out of the large hotel window, which overlooked the Atlantic Ocean. Cate turned to Nigel and asked, as he stared at the sea "are you missing England and your family?"

"Yes I suppose I am a bit" he said "sitting here reminds me of when I went to Brighton, when I was six. We stayed at a hotel on the seafront, very similar to this. I remember looking out the window with my mum, it was pouring with rain and I wanted to kick my football around. Mum wouldn't let me; it was too wet, so we just sat there laughing at children splashing in the puddles and watching people running for shelter. Before it started raining my dad took my older brother fishing at the end of the pier; they came back soaked, but they'd caught a little fish, which my brother tried to put down my shirt! Mum was cross with him as she had to bathe and change me again before dinner." He smiled as he recalled the incident and continued "that was 1985…. it seems just like yesterday." He looked out the window again and then directly at Cate and realised he was telling her about his family, something he so rarely did, even with Sydney. He was beginning to feel very relaxed sitting next to her and was about to put his arm around her shoulder when she suddenly gave him a very odd look and said "Nigel, how old are you?" hoping she'd misheard him say he was six in 1985.

"I was twenty three a couple of weeks ago" he said, wondering why she was suddenly asking; she'd never mentioned age before.

"What! So you really are as young as you look!" she said with a horrified look on her face "I feel like a cradle snatcher!"

"Cate you know I'm younger than you but we get along fine, don't we!" he said, looking into her eyes, his heart beginning to beat really fast.

"Nigel I'm nine years older than you! I had no idea you were such a young man! I considered you must be at least twenty eight to be doing the job you're doing" she said, wondering what Sydney must be thinking of her dating Nigel; now realising why the professor had no interest in him in the romantic sense!

"So does this mean you're dumping me?" Nigel said with a pained expression on his face, his heart sinking.

"Oh Nigel, don't be upset, I'm sure it'll be no time at all until you find the perfect girl; you're such a special young man. Please don't hate me; I really thought you were older and just a bit shy." She looked at him and saw tears pooling up in his eyes and said "I'm so sorry Nigel; I'll drive you home in the morning." She brushed the hair out of his eyes with her hand and he pushed it away saying "I thought you cared about me!"

"I do care about you Nigel; that's why I'm ending it now, before I fall further in love with you!" she said, feeling just terrible as she ran to her room, obviously as upset as Nigel, who immediately called Sydney. He told her what had happened; desperately trying not to cry and said "Syd you were right, I should have listened to you and taken it slower"

"Oh Nigel, I'm so sorry, are you alright?" she asked, wishing she'd had a quiet word with Cate a long time ago about Nigel.

"I'll be OK Syd; I guess I'm just not the kind of man she wants" he said, allowing a couple of tears to fall down his cheeks.

"Do you want me to come and collect you, I could be there in a couple of hours?" she said.

"No Syd, I'll try and get a bus in the morning, I don't want to keep you up half the night; you have work tomorrow. If I can't get a bus, Cate said she'd drive me home; although I don't really want to be in a car with her for two hours!" he said, thinking how difficult that journey would be under the circumstances.

"Nigel if you can't get a bus tomorrow and you don't want to come back with Cate, Mark Lane lives about ten miles away from there and I'm sure he won't mind driving you home. We have a meeting set up next week anyway; were going to decide what to do with the Mochica vessel, but he'll probably have no problem with bringing it forward. I'll ring him and call you back" she said, keeping her fingers crossed that Mark would be home.

"Thanks Syd, I'll speak to you in a little while" he said, putting the phone down. Ten minutes later she rang back and told him to be ready at 7.00 a.m. when Mark would collect him from the hotel. He lay back on his bed, feeling so relived he was being spared the long drive home with Cate.

He wrote a goodbye note to Cate and put it under her door before he left, wishing he'd listened more to his boss.

**PLEASE REVIEW: I would really appreciate it if anyone who likes my story would let me know (even a long time after this has been put on the fan fiction site). **

**In the last chapter Nigel meets up with Preston again and tells Sydney about his past.**


	11. Chapter 11

Well, here's the last chapter, what a journey it's been! I hope you enjoy it. This is a a very long chapter! I've read it through so many times now; I just can't do it again, so please excuse any mistakes etc I may have missed!

**Chapter Eleven**

**The Past Revealed**

Nigel went back to work a couple of days after he got back from the beach and for the next couple of weeks Sydney Made sure he was kept fully occupied to keep his mind off Cate. He did mountains of research and authenticated several relics during this time and also kept up with his studies. After a further month Sydney realised that he was more or less back to normal, although he made no attempt to meet any new girls.

One morning Sydney and Nigel came into the office together and were surprised to note that Claudia was sat at her desk shaking with fear. Claudia told them that she'd been having hallucinations, or perhaps visions, about living in Egypt in 51 BC! She went on to explain that because of the visions she knew secrets about Cleopatra; proving this by describing to the director of the Alexandria Museum, over the telephone, how to open a secret compartment in Cleopatra's jewellery box; a compartment that neither he, nor anyone else, knew existed! Sydney was amazed and asked Claudia to accompany her and Nigel to Egypt to search for Cleopatra's necklace, the necklace having been part of her visions. Claudia, however, advised that they couldn't go because Max Schneider, from the accounting department, was visiting the following day to carry out an audit. As Sydney had put this off four times in the last six months the Dean was going to withhold all of her research funds until an audit was completed! Realising the importance of the funds, Sydney decided to take Claudia with her and leave Nigel behind to handle the audit!

Max, the accountant, turned out to be Maxine, a very attractive woman, in her early thirties, who gave Nigel a really hard time by picking out ridiculous little discrepancies with the accounts; making him feel like a criminal. After four hours of being grilled, Nigel, who'd been cowering in his chair most of the time, could simply take no more! He leapt up from his chair, vented his anger and then got the shock of his life when Maxine unzipped her dress and said sexily "I've been hot for you since I walked in the door, but you let me steamroller all over you. Now you're standing up to me and taking charge; it's turning me on!" Nigel was flabbergasted as she took off his glasses, pushed him backwards over his desk; hitting his head quite painfully at the back. She then forcefully led on top of him and kissed him quite aggressively, as he struggled to try and get free. He was sure he was going to suffocate when suddenly she got really excited and started digging her nails into the back of his neck, pulling his hair and biting his ear! Nigel started to panic and tears came into his eyes as she was really hurting him. The next thing he knew she'd undone the button on his trousers and unzipped them; causing him to scream, feel very frightened and twist and turn even harder to try and free himself. She didn't look that strong, but she was! It then occurred to him that if someone walked in right then, he'd be the one in trouble; as nobody would believe he was the one being molested! This thought gave him a sudden adrenaline rush and he found the strength to shove her away. He immediately jumped up and ran behind his desk, telling Maxine, quite angrily, as he pulled up his zip, to leave him alone! His heart was almost in his mouth as he stood there shaking with fear, not knowing quite what to do. Just at that moment Professor Yates, a large elderly lady, who worked in the accounts department, rushed into the office, having heard Nigel scream. On seeing him looking so panic stricken and close to tears she said to Maxine very firmly "get out of here now! You're a disgrace to the college!" Nigel was taken aback as Maxine gave him a menacing look, zipped up her dress and said to the professor "it was entirely his fault; he led me on!" Poor Nigel just stood there with his mouth wide open; totally stunned.

The professor shouted at Maxine again "get out!" This time she left without saying word.

"Are you alright Nigel? Where's Sydney?" the concerned professor asked, as she put her arm around Nigel's shoulders to calm him down.

"Yes I'm…I'm fine now professor, just a bit shaken and my ear's a little sore, thanks for helping me. Um, Sydney's in Egypt with Claudia looking for a relic" he said, flopping down on his chair, his legs feeling like jelly "she needed me to stay here and take care of the audit." He then suddenly thought; I hope I'm not getting Sydney into trouble here!

"If I'd known Sydney had left you on your own, I'd never have allowed Maxine near this office! She's disgraced herself before with a couple of young students, one of them was gay and the other was in a serious relationship. Unfortunately, the boys were too embarrassed to press charges, or make a formal complaint; all they did was report her to me. Between us we felt she deserved a second chance, as she's a brilliant accountant, and she did apologise to the boys. This time though, I assume you'll want to report her to the police; she can't be allowed to keep sexually harassing young men; she always goes for the innocent looking ones!" she said, looking at Nigel who was rubbing his sore ear; deep in thought, although was fully aware of what she'd said.

"No professor, please, I don't want the police involved! Just keep her away from this department. If you want to fire her… well that's up to you, but I'd rather just forget about it. She probably needs psychiatric help though, so maybe you should suggested that to her. Um, please professor, don't mention any of this to Sydney, you know how angry she can get; I don't want her doing anything hasty!" Nigel said with a pleading look on his face.

"Well Nigel, if you are absolutely sure you're alright and your ear isn't too painful, I'll go and deal with Maxine. I hadn't considered suggesting she gets psychiatric help, but that's a very good idea. Oh and I know what you mean about Sydney; she's extremely fond of you and she'd probably do Maxine some harm for what she did to you!" the professor said, noticing how embarrassed Nigel looked. She patted him on the shoulder and left, thinking how mature he was behaving, when he could have caused such a fuss.

When Sydney and Claudia got back from Egypt, having found the necklace, Sydney was immediately asked, by Adam Grant, a graduate student, to find the Eyes of Toklamanee; a Native American artefact. Nigel never mentioned a thing about the incident with "the accountant from hell" so Sydney was happy to leave him at Trinity again while she went to the Mississippi Valley in search of the relic which, of course, she eventually found.

A week after Sydney got back from Mississippi she and Nigel were summoned to Russia to search for the Sword of Ateas. The information and research they'd been provided with in respect of this relic was excellent and within days they found the sword under a lake! Unfortunately, just at the moment they located it, they were ambushed by some soldiers and taken prisoner.

Their captor was a man called Tsarlov who was a hunter. However, it wasn't just animals he hunted; his favourite game was humans! He'd first capture them, then set them free and thereafter he'd hunt them! Of course, that's why he'd taken Sydney and Nigel prisoner! The horrible thing was; not only were they about to be hunted by this maniac; although they were unaware of this at first, but they were both told that the other was dead!

Nigel was locked in a cell in the basement while Sydney, who'd been shot, was kept upstairs to recuperate, before being hunted.

Nigel, who was completely stunned when Tsarlov revealed that Sydney was dead, suddenly lashed out shouting "you're a lying bastard! Where is she?" Tsarlov easily shook him off and grabbed his shoulders, throwing him forcefully to the ground saying "she's dead, like you and the others down here will be soon!" Bending down over Nigel he viciously slapped his face, giving him a threatening look as he stood up again. Hovering over his frightened young prisoner, no conscience apparent at all, he brutally kicked Nigel's thigh; laughing as he screamed out in pain.

Once Nigel was left alone, he dragged himself onto the uncomfortable bed, curled up in a ball and cried; more at the possible loss of Sydney, than the pain he was experiencing. He wondered if it was true; would he never to see her again; he could hardly bear to think about it! He tried to think logically; he'd survived the ambush so it was entirely possible that Sydney did too, but if she did, where was she? Sydney had always looked after him; if she was alive wouldn't she have rescued him? So many thoughts went through his mind; one minute he believed she was alive, the next she was dead. His head hurt with so many mixed up thoughts but there was one thing he knew for sure; if Sydney was dead, which he prayed she wasn't, he had to avenge her death. As downhearted and pained as he felt, this thought kept him alive; he just had to get free to do it!

Nigel tried on several occasions to get the attention of the girl in the cell opposite; hoping she might be able to help him with an escape plan. However, she didn't respond when he called to her, probably because the guard got angry when prisoners communicated with each other.

After several days of watching other prisoners being taken away one by one; none of them ever returning, Nigel began to feel very despondent. He'd been forced to wear filthy clothes, was not permitted to bathe and, try as he might, he'd found no means of escape.

He'd tried to be brave but he was often subjected to physical and mental cruelty, which was so hard to bear. There was one occasion where a guard, who appeared to be unable to speak, came down to Nigel's cell simply to beat him. Nigel had done nothing to provoke the man, who was obviously a sadist, as he clearly enjoyed inflicting pain. He slapped Nigel's face and punched him, knocking him to the ground; his head hitting the wall as he fell. He then picked Nigel up again, tossed him face down on the bed and hit him several times with his belt, leaving cuts from his buckle on Nigel's back. Nigel screamed out in pain but the guard just turned him back over and pulled him up to face him. He then caught hold of the back of Nigel's hair, yanked his head back and slapped his face again. Once he'd let go, Nigel held his arms around his head to protect him from any further blows and put his knees up in front of his chest, praying for the beating to end. He really believed the guard would kill him if he continued hitting him, but suddenly he stopped, leaving Nigel on the bed with his nose bleeding and tears streaming down his face.

By the following day, just as Nigel thought he could take no more, his cell door suddenly opened. He was petrified, thinking he was either going to be beaten again, or be taken away like the other prisoners. Unsure of what was happening, as nobody entered his cell, he cautiously approached the door and slowly pushed it open. Peeping outside and noticing it was clear, he warily stepped into the passageway, absolutely terrified that he might be attacked at any moment. Feeling the need to protect himself he noticed an iron bar leaning against the outside wall of his cell. He immediately picked it up, realising it was probably there to be used on him! Just then he heard a noise, it was footsteps and they were coming his way! Shaking with fear and holding on to the bar, he stepped back inside his cell; half closing the door behind him. Hearing a scuffle going on outside, and believing someone was being attacked, he quietly opened the door, raised the bar in the air and cracked it over the head of the guard! As the guard fell to the floor, to Nigel's utter astonishment, the person who was being attacked was none other than Sydney! He thought for a second he must be dreaming but then she scooped him up in her arms and gave him the biggest bear hug imaginable! He hugged her very tightly too, explaining that Tsarlov told him she was dead. "Likewise" she said, holding him even tighter. They hugged for a few seconds more when suddenly they heard someone coming. Looking to find a way out, but being unsuccessful, Sydney passed Nigel a swipe card that she'd stolen, having previously used it to unlock the cell doors. Nigel slipped it into his back pocket, just as Sydney was recaptured by Tsarlov, who took her back upstairs, leaving poor Nigel to be dealt with by the guard, who'd already regained consciousness!

"I didn't mean to hit you" Nigel said, as the guard grabbed hold of the back of his neck and shoved him back in his cell. He immediately forced Nigel, who was shaking with fear, to strip off and threw him on the bed. Nigel, feeling more terrified than ever, believing, for sure, he was going to be raped, watched in horror as the guard took off his belt and walked towards him. The guard then flipped him onto his stomach, stroked his body gently and then beat the living daylights out of him with his belt! Nigel screamed, each blow causing him such extreme pain he thought he might pass out. However, having hit him fifteen times, he stopped and left Nigel sobbing; although relieved he'd not been raped!

Even though Nigel was in a lot of pain, he ignored it, realising he just had to escape by using the swipe card. Unfortunately, although he'd come up with the ingenious idea of putting the card on the end of his fork, he still couldn't reach the panel to unlock the door; dropping the card in the process! He felt utterly distraught, thinking Sydney had trusted him to get free; now she had no way of escaping and he couldn't help her! Suddenly the girl in the cell opposite, who'd been watching all along, threw her fork over to his cell; miraculously sliding it under his door! He looked over to her, saw her looking back, but didn't say a word, not wanting to attract the attention of the guard. Joining the two forks together, he stretched down to the floor, knocked the swipe card back under his door and reached for the panel again. This time he was successful and managed to unlock his cell; immediately rushing over to the cell opposite to let the girl out. Putting his finger to his lips he indicated she must be quiet, then immediately ran up the stairs; using the swipe card to get outside to the yard. Once there, Nigel sneakily crept up behind the guard, shoving him in with the hunting dogs! Just at that moment Sydney appeared out of nowhere and shouted "Nigel, come on!" She appeared to be unhurt, even though Tsarlov had already attempted to hunt her. She ultimately fought with Tsarlov, using the sword of Ateas and, to her horror; he deliberately pulled the sword into his own chest while Sydney was holding it!

Sydney and Nigel, along with Tatiana, the girl who escaped with Nigel, contacted the authorities, who collected them; taking Sydney and Nigel to a luxury hotel to recover. Tatiana, who preferred to be called Tessie, was taken care of by the Russian government, for whom she'd been working for the past three years.

Nigel tried to keep the fact that he'd been badly beaten a secret from Sydney. However, she noticed him flinch when she hugged him and forced him to show her his back. She was horrified, yet so proud of him, when she saw the bruises, realising that what he'd been through was equal, if not worse, than what she had. She wanted him to see a doctor but he insisted that all he needed was a long soak in a bath "you definitely need that Nigel, you smell like a sewer!" she said, trying to lighten the situation, as she was almost in tears.

"I know Syd; I wasn't allowed to bathe, the toilet was a hole in the ground in my cell, and there was only newspaper to use for um… you know, sorry" he said, knowing instinctively that she was actually devastated by his appearance. He'd lost so much weight his sweater appeared to be two sizes too big; he was glad to be throwing it away, along with the rest of his clothes!

Although they had separate rooms, Sydney stayed with Nigel at night, enabling her to hold him if he had a nightmare. Not surprisingly, he did, but when Sydney managed to wake him, he yelled even more, as he'd been viciously slapped by the guard when he'd screamed during the night in his cell!

Once they got home Nigel immediately visited Doctor Baines to talk about his latest nightmare and to have his six monthly check-up. As it turned out, Nigel was better than he looked, but he didn't refuse the pain killers; thinking that with those he could at least go back to work. As for the nightmares, Doctor Baines talked in his usual calm manner, that always made Nigel feel better, but he still advised him to discuss things with Sydney!

They'd only been home a week when the Russian government, who were very grateful to them for recovering the sword of Ateas, sent a special envoy to thank them personally. The envoy turned out to be Tessie, who'd grown to like Nigel very much during their captivity, although she was too frightened, at the time, to speak. Having given Sydney and Nigel a gift, she asked Nigel if he would show her around during her stay. Feeling rather pleased, he asked Sydney if she'd mind, which, of course, she didn't, although she certainly hoped he wouldn't go falling for Tessie as she'd only be there for a couple of days! Nigel, however, had no intention of falling for anyone, although he felt surprisingly relaxed with Tessie and they had a very enjoyable time.

One day, about three months after they returned from Russia, they were all busy doing various things in the office, when the telephone rang. Nothing unusual there, except when Claudia answered it, to Nigel's utter astonishment, he heard her say it was Preston Bailey calling from the British Museum! Nigel, believing the call must be for him said "tell him I'm in the Himalayas and you don't expect me back for a year or two!"

"It's not for you" Claudia said, putting the call through to Sydney. "I never knew you had a brother!"

"I'm trying to forget it myself" Nigel replied, wondering what the hell Preston was doing calling Sydney.

"What's he like?" Claudia asked, hoping he was going to say something nice about him.

"Arrogant, vain, inflexible, impossible! That's why I haven't seen him in years" Nigel said. In fact it had been about two and a half years since he'd seen his brother and he'd spoken to him twice in that time. Their last conversation had deeply upset him and he still wasn't ready to speak to Preston again. Of course, he had no intention of telling Claudia about what happened, as she looked at him quite baffled and said "I thought brothers were supposed to be close, share things, do things for each other" to which Nigel responded "you obviously don't know my brother!"

Just then Sydney came out of her office and said "Preston's brilliant, if what he says is true, he's uncovered a 16th century parchment which could lead to the royal ring of Anne Boleyn!" Nigel didn't want to know and said "you don't understand, all our lives he's been intent on doing everything better than me, he even took the job I was supposed to get at the British Museum!" Sydney thought that one of these days she's going to get to the bottom of what went on between the two brothers; bearing in mind that George Bally had told her they'd had problems. For now, however, she wanted to find out everything she could about Anne Boleyn's ring and said "Nigel, do you think you can put your differences aside, we have a relic to find?" She left the room before Nigel could respond, so he followed her, believing she was completely ignoring his feelings. However, Sydney explained that, as she didn't know Preston, she couldn't be sure he'd be of any use to her on the hunt but she, obviously, knew that he would. Nigel smiled at her comment but then looked down at the floor; suddenly lost in thoughts of the past.

Realising Nigel was genuinely unhappy about this hunt, she said "Nigel, you know I really need you to come with me to London. I promise, if you come willingly, you can have a couple of days off to visit Mrs Wright and George and Alice, alright?"

"Honestly, can I really?" he said, softening at the thought of seeing them again "OK I'll go." He knew though, no matter how hard he tried, it was going to be difficult seeing Preston again. He realised, however, that he'd have to face him sometime.

They flew out to London the next day and Sydney tried to reassure Nigel that, even if he didn't want to see Preston, he would really enjoy seeing everyone else; adding "it probably won't be as bad as you think." She could tell, however, by the worried and rather sad expression on his face, that she wasn't getting through to him.

Once they'd landed at Heathrow, they went directly to the British Museum and stood outside Preston's office where Nigel said "I'm really not looking forward to this." Sydney patted him on the shoulder, smiled and knocked on Preston's office door. As they walked inside with Nigel dragging behind, looking quite irritable; Preston stood up and walked to the front of his desk. Sydney raised her hand and said "hi, I'm Sydney Fox." She and Preston shook hands and he replied "Preston Bailey, it's a great pleasure to meet you, you're a bit of a legend here you know."

"Well thank you, I believe the two of you have met" Sydney said; noticing a very uncomfortable looking Nigel stood by her side.

"Yes were brothers" Preston said, suddenly realising she was having a bit of fun at his expense. He looked directly at his younger brother, who was still at least seven inches shorter than him and said "thanks for coming Nigel, I know we've had our differences, Podge, but I hope this will be my chance to make it up to you."

"Podge!" Sydney said, quite taken aback.

"Yes he was a bit of a butterball when he was younger" Preston said, smiling.

Nigel felt really fed-up and said, in a rather annoyed tone of voice "look, are we here to discuss my totally unjustified nickname, or to find the royal ring of Anne Boleyn aye!" Preston and Sydney ignored Nigel's irritated response and Preston explained about a poem he'd found in one of Henry VIII's hunting lodges, in Maidstone. Unfortunately the bottom line of the poem was damaged but they all agreed, when looking at it carefully, that it was precisely characteristic of Henry's own hand writing!

Nigel was feeling rather touchy as this was the first meeting he'd had with Preston in a long time and it was in the office that would probably have been his had his brother not gotten the job!

Preston gave Sydney a copy of the poem and asked her and Nigel to come to dinner that evening, at his house, so that she could see where he and Nigel grew up. His house, Nigel thought, half of the house is mine! Sydney looked rather pleased, but not wanting to get a telling off from his boss in front of Preston, Nigel just gritted his teeth. What he really wanted to do was tell Preston exactly what he could do with his dinner! However, Preston then told Nigel that he'd arranged a special surprise for him, which quite worried Nigel, as he could remember some rather nasty surprises his big brother had arranged for him when he was younger!

They went to dinner at the Bailey residence and Nigel was surprised that Preston had changed very little. He'd even left the piano exactly where it had always been, with the same family photographs on top. Sydney was very impressed that Nigel had grown up in such a grand house and was stunned when he went over to the piano and played his mother's favourite piece; although he was a little rusty. Sydney, who believed she knew all of Nigel's talents, thought he was even more brilliant now and said "I didn't know you could play Nigel!" Preston then said "Nigel won third prize in the prestigious Porter Highland piano competition." Nigel piped up "Preston won first prize!" "Two talented brothers" Sydney replied, very impressed by both of them.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door and Preston said to Nigel "why don't you see who that is Podge." He looked at Preston suspiciously, went to the door, opened it, and to his amazement, saw it was Amanda!

"Preston said that you'd be here but I could hardly believe it" she said, as they gave each other a little kiss, Amanda going on to say "it's lovely to see you." Nigel looked a little bewildered as Amanda walked past him and walked over to his brother. Preston introduced her to Sydney and Nigel said "Amanda and I were um ... I haven't seen Amanda since I left for the States." He looked at his brother and said "Preston how thoughtful of you to invite her." With that, Amanda kissed Preston, who said "well we've been spending a lot of time together, haven't we Pigeon" Nigel was horrified as he looked at the two of them kissing! He knew his brother liked to show off but this was really cruel and completely unexpected, especially after what had happened before Nigel left for America! He was hoping that Preston would be a bit kinder to him now that he'd revealed why he'd left him at boarding school, but his hopes were completely shattered now.

Sydney could immediately tell how awful the situation was for Nigel and knew she just had to get him out of there as quickly as possible. Pretending he was having a migraine, so he could leave before bursting into tears, she then excused herself by saying "I'm thinking I should see Nigel to the hotel and make sure he's OK, maybe we should just continue this tomorrow morning."

Nigel ran to the nearest pub with tears streaming down his cheeks, feeling so angry that his brother could still do such a rotten thing, after all that had happened. Sydney chased after him and for once allowed him to deliberately get drunk. They were at the pub for about forty five minutes and Nigel, whose head was spinning, told her he believed that Preston had lured him back to England just to flaunt his relationship with Amanda! He then shouted, in disbelief, "Pigeon! Pigeon was my pet name for Amanda; you don't steel another man's pet name for his girlfriend; that should be punishable by law!" Sydney looked at him, thinking; when is this kid going to get some happiness!

"This visit has brought up a lot of hold history for you, hasn't it?" she said quite softly.

"I'll be OK" he said, looking quite sad.

"If you want to go home I can handle this myself" Sydney said, noticing his eyes were watering again. She was about to say, or you can go and visit your nanny, when Nigel got slightly miffed and said, in a very slurred voice "no! I'm not going to give HIM the satisfaction, you and me Syd, we're a team and I'm not going to let HIM split this up." He took Sydney's hand and squeezed it tightly, feeling quite giddy as he looked at her. She couldn't remember ever seeing him so messed up before; his mind was all over the place; not just because of the drink. She began to feel that it was getting to the point in their relationship where she simply had to know what had happened between him Preston; she couldn't bear to see Nigel so unhappy.

As they were leaving the pub Sydney decided it would be a good idea to walk through the park, giving Nigel a chance to get some fresh air and clear his head. Suddenly they were attacked by a guy called Willis who, unbeknown to Sydney and Nigel, had been following them for a while. Sydney fought with him, and would have won, had Nigel not, in his drunken state, tried to help her! The thief held a gun to Nigel's neck and stole Sydney's bag which, unfortunately, contained the poem!

The next day, when they went to see Preston, the Police arrived and returned Sydney's bag, Sydney having reported the theft to them the previous evening. Fortunately, nothing was missing... except the poem! They tried hard, between the three of them to remember the lines, Preston having only made that one copy and eventually recalled how it went.

Nigel was still very upset at Preston for the way he'd acted with Amanda and said, very sarcastically, "I'm sure it's just a coincidence that you're involved with the love of my life!"

(Amanda being the love of his life was sort of true, because he'd gone out with her for a lot longer than any of the girls he'd dated in America. He just felt so betrayed by his brother and all the memories of what happened before he left for the States came flooding back again).

Preston responded "It is a coincidence! Amanda just happened to show up at the museum a few days ago, we went for a coffee and one thing led to another!"

"Very rapidly!" Nigel replied, feeling so hurt and walking away. He found himself in the drawing room, which had hardly changed at all, except for a few new cushions on the sofa. As he looked around the beautiful room he recalled some wonderful memories of his parents; visualising his mother sat on the large sofa with his dad by her side, chatting away, as he read a book on the floor. He remembered climbing onto his father's knee to watch television and cuddling up to him to go to sleep. Looking over by the door, he smiled as he noticed his mother's favourite lamp was still there, the broken bit barely visible.

Unfortunately, not all of his memories were good ones as he suddenly recalled the face of the policeman who'd brought the news of his parent's death. Nigel's emotions went from happy to sad and then to angry, as he remembered the arguments he'd had with Preston about boarding school and the times Preston had marched him up to his bedroom and smacked him. Nigel tried hard to get the sad thoughts out of his head, realising that he must try to focus on the task at hand, working out the clues in the poem. Sydney and Preston came into the drawing room at that moment; Sydney having stopped Preston following Nigel earlier, realising he was about to get emotional again.

Between them they analysed the individual words of the poem and it suddenly dawned on them that they should go to Leeds Castle, in Kent! Just as they worked out that clue, Amanda walked into the drawing room in her pyjamas and told "Pooh Bear" he should have woken her. Nigel assumed she was talking to him, but she wasn't, she was actually talking to Preston! He felt so stupid, and when she asked if she could come to Leeds Castle with them Nigel made it plain he didn't want her along; Preston, however, clearly did and he got his own way!

Once they'd reached the castle Nigel had a quick word with Amanda who admitted that, when he'd left home, two and a half years ago, he wasn't the only one who was hurt! She said that she'd made a mistake but by the time she'd realised how she really felt, he'd already gone to America. He'd actually only gone to Oxford but nobody, except his nanny, knew that, so she was unable to contact him. He didn't actually go to America until a couple of months later but had she managed to locate him during that time, his life could have been completely different! He told her that if he'd known how she felt he would never have gone, but he knew deep down, he would. He remembered how awful he felt after he'd fought with Preston about Amanda and the slight annoyance he'd felt towards her for accidentally telling Preston about that job. Suddenly Amanda told Nigel that she didn't only come on the tour to see the castle, implying she came to be near him! He was really surprised, but just at that moment Preston interrupted them and asked "is everything alright?" They both put on an innocent look and said "fine!" However, as Nigel thought more about what Amanda had just said he realised, even though he was annoyed at his brother for showing off about Amanda, he really didn't like the disloyalty she was showing towards Preston.

While they were on the tour of the castle the guide showed them an organ which had actually been played by Henry VIII. It was designed by Cornelius Major, whose name was on a plaque on the side of it. Once Nigel had examined it he came to the conclusion that it might have something to do with the poem and decided he'd discuss his thoughts later with Sydney.

As quite often happens when Sydney and Nigel are on relic hunts, they are forced to deal with rival relic hunters. This hunt was no exception as Sydney was confronted by one at the castle. Even though Nigel had told Preston that Sydney was a martial arts expert, Preston was astonished by her fighting skills and watched in amazement as she fought with her rival. He began to feel quite worried about his little brother then, thinking, my goodness, what has Podge got himself into! Unfortunately, because of the fight, Sydney was thrown out of the castle, which she realised could make things difficult if they needed to have a second look at anything.

During dinner that evening they all began talking about the poem and the fact that there were two references to a ring. Suddenly Nigel realised that the bell that was ringing so tunefully, as they spoke, was ringing in C major, recalling that the poem stated "The ring is the key to the ring left to thee." He remembered too that the organ at the castle was designed by C Major, thus he made the connection between the ring and the organ! It was then very apparent they'd have to go back to the castle to examine the instrument in more detail. However, that was easier said than done as the owners of the castle weren't about to let Sydney back in! Considering the problem Sydney decided they'd have to "make an informal visit" meaning they'd have to break in! Preston began to really worry now about what other criminal activities Nigel might have been getting up to since he'd been working for Sydney!

Before they left for the castle, Amanda gave Nigel a really passionate kiss, which he responded to, but felt inside that if she could be unfaithful to Preston, she could do the same to him. He therefore made the decision that he wasn't going to be stupid enough to get involved with her again.

They managed to get inside the castle and found more clues which led them to believe the ring might be inside a Jack-in-the-Box, which was back at the British Museum.

Having got back to their hotel rooms Sydney found the guy she'd fought with in the castle, dead on her bedroom floor! A moment later they heard police sirens, which made it obvious that Sydney had been set up. Not wanting to get arrested, she told everyone to run to the car, advising they could explain everything to the police after they'd found the ring!

Preston's head was spinning; he was very uneasy about Nigel's behaviour as he seemed quite happy to take part in things which were, clearly, against the law! He worried that if Nigel got arrested, his parent's friends and colleagues, who'd often checked up on the two boys over the years, would believe he'd done a terrible job of raising him! That thought disturbed him so much he tried to think up reasons why it wasn't his fault that Nigel turned out that way!

Once they got back to the museum they discovered that the Jack-in-the-box was missing and there was an unconscious guard lying on the floor! Sydney, on hearing a door being closed in the basement, took Nigel with her to investigate. They discovered it was Willis, who'd forced Anthony Cureton, at gunpoint, to take the Jack-in-the-box down there. It then transpired that Amanda had been working with Willis all along; Willis being one of the men she and Tony had shared a house with in London; before Tony was arrested in Boston. Realising how close they were to finding the ring and hearing Willis in the basement, Amanda put a gun to Preston's head and shoved him towards the stairs! Although Nigel had started to feel rather wary of Amanda, he was completely taken aback to see her with a gun and said "I don't believe this!"

"I always did love that naïve quality of yours" Amanda replied, believing he'd not changed a bit since he walked out of her life a few years back. Of course, Nigel had grown up quite a bit since then and Sydney had taught him a trick or two! As a diversionary tactic, realising he had to help Preston, he pretended not to care if she shot him! He then tried talking her into shooting Willis, hoping she'd get distracted, and give him an opportunity to free his brother. Suddenly, as the adrenaline rushed through Nigel's body, he ran over to Preston, punched him quite hard in the stomach and grabbed hold of the gun; as his brother bent over in pain! Preston was astounded by what he'd just witnessed and was very proud of his little brother right then, even though his stomach hurt. However, it then occurred to him that Nigel might now want revenge for all the smacks he'd given him when he was younger!

The police were called and they arrested Willis and Amanda; however, before they took her away she angrily tried to slap Nigel's face, although the police prevented it. She then bitterly revealed to him, as she ranted on, that she'd been furious with him for not contacting her after she'd sent him a twenty first birthday card and that she'd never forgiven him for having Tony arrested and sent to prison! What she didn't say was that she'd remembered he'd be getting some extra money when he reached the age of twenty one! Although, when she sent him that card, she genuinely still liked him; the money was just an added attraction. She was obviously now a very unstable woman who'd really cared for Nigel at one time, but wanted revenge on him now.

When Preston had explained to Amanda about the ring she saw it as an opportunity to lure Nigel, the relic hunter, back to England. She believed his rivalry with Preston would speed up the hunt and cause Nigel some unhappiness along the way, as she played up to Preston in front of him. Nigel wondered why he'd never noticed how manipulative she could be, until he remembered how long she'd been friends with Tony, who'd probably been a bad influence on her over the years.

Once Sydney had sorted out the loose ends, the police realised she was no murderer and decided to forget that she, Nigel and Preston had broken into Leeds Castle; bearing in mind that Sydney was known to be a very honest relic hunter and the castle owners had confirmed that no property had been damaged by her.

Sydney, who'd been amazingly patient while the police dealt with matters, decided it was now time to open up the Jack-in-the-Box to see if the ring was, in fact, inside. She twisted the knob on the side of the box, which was kind of ornate for a child's toy, and the ring flew into the air! Nigel competed with Preston to catch it, which he did; giving Sydney a very satisfied grin.

The following day Sydney allowed Nigel to sleep in quite late, although she didn't realise he'd barely slept at all. He'd been tossing and turning half the night, being unable to get Amanda out of his head. He'd eventually got to sleep at about four in the morning, having come to the conclusion that, even if he had contacted her that time, he wouldn't have come home. It had also occurred to him, bearing in mind how she'd behaved of late, that she could have been motivated by money and, therefore, he was better off without her!

By midday he was up, showered and feeling better, although he was starting to get anxious about not having seen Nanny Wright or his other loved ones yet. Realising time was short, there being only three days left until they return to the States, he gave Sydney one of his cutest smiles and asked if he could go. Sydney, realising what a traumatic time he'd had of late, remembered her promise and said he could go first thing in the morning.

"Can't I go now please?" he asked, with a pleading look on his face.

"I'm sorry Nigel but I really need your help to complete the paperwork regarding the ring. I could also do with your assistance in composing a letter of apology to the owner's of Leeds Castle for the disruption we caused; you're so much better at that kind of thing than me" she said, feeling rather guilty for holding him back. Nigel understood and got on with the task, realising the importance of documenting their find and keeping their good name intact.

Once he'd completed the work, and made some telephone calls to his 'family' he packed a small bag ready for the morning and went down to have dinner with Sydney. He ordered a delicious steak, joking that she couldn't have any this time, having stolen his last one to distract the guard dogs at Leeds Castle; enabling them to break in without being bitten!

They chatted away, enjoying the food and each other's company and then Sydney reminded him that he'd promised her a tour of the sights of London and said "we'll have to do it on Thursday afternoon, you'll be back by then won't you?" Deep down she realised that she wasn't really allowing him much time to see everyone, although Nigel had seemed excited about showing her around when they'd initially discussed it.

"Yes Syd, I'll be back just after midday" he said; now wishing he hadn't made that promise to her. He'd already thought that two days was not long enough, but now it was only a day and a half! Luckily he'd already called George and Alice to ask them to meet him at Louisa's house, cutting out the need for him to travel to Oxford. They thought it was a good idea too as it would give them more time to see him and the opportunity to see Louisa. Nigel had forewarned Louisa about what he'd done, believing she wouldn't mind, and asked if she'd invite Uncle Frederick to her home as well. He was so excited at the thought of seeing everyone again; he could hardly stand the wait!

He got to Louisa's house quite early on the Wednesday morning; the taxi pulling up outside her garden gate. She was overjoyed at seeing her "baby" again and rushed outside to greet him. They hugged each other really tightly; both shedding tears of joy as the cab driver waited patiently for his fare. Nigel paid him; then he turned to his nanny and said "I've missed you so much!"

"Oh darling, I've missed you even more!" Louisa's said; her heart filling up with happiness as she looked at him, noticing he still had the same baby faced looks she remembered so fondly. "You go into the living room and sit down; I'll make you a nice up of tea, or are you drinking coffee now sweetheart?"

"Tea would be lovely, please nana" he said, as she went into the kitchen. He wandered into the living room, which was so familiar to him, and picked up a photo of his mother. He held it close to his chest for a minute, and then put it down again, realising he'd only upset himself if he kept doing that. Taking a deep breath he said, in a slightly raised voice "nana you're looking a little tired, are you looking after yourself? You shouldn't overdo things at the house; Preston's perfectly capable of looking after himself, you know."

"I'm fine sweetheart" she said, coming into the living room again "I haven't slept that well since you came back to England, I could hardly wait to see your handsome little face again; the anticipation's kept me awake!" Nigel blushed a little, then smiled at her; noticing a tear running down her cheek. He hugged her again; shedding a few more tears himself; it had been far too long since he'd seen her.

They chatted for a couple of hours about his life in America and, of course, relic hunting, although he was careful not to mention any of the dangers he faced; not wishing to worry her. Although they'd talked many times over the phone during the past couple of years, it was so much nicer talking face to face. Louisa loved it when he acted out some of crazy things he and Sydney had done to help them find a particular artefact. He relayed, in particular, the time he and Sydney had performed as magician's assistants and when he pretended to be Sydney's manager at a club in Paris, missing out anything even slightly risky, so she wouldn't fret.

Suddenly they heard a car pull up outside, causing Nigel to jump up from his chair and look through the window. It was Uncle George and Aunty Alice. Nigel got so excited he just couldn't wait for them knock on the door and rushed outside to greet them both with a huge hug. Alice, with tears in her eyes, planted a big kiss on his cheek and said "you haven't changed a bit sweetheart, have you been behaving yourself?" George butted in to save Nigel from answering the awkward question and said "he's the best assistant Sydney's ever had, so he's obviously been very good." Nigel smiled shyly at them and recalled in his mind his first week in America, when he did some things that his former guardians would definitely not have approved of! He also knew that some of the things he'd done since, especially on relic hunts, would have appalled them and they'd probably be rather angry with him, and Sydney, if they found out!

They walked into the house, George with his arm wrapped over Nigel's shoulders and Alice holding his hand. The Ballys' both then greeted Louisa with a kiss and settled down in the living room with a cup of tea. Alice and Louisa talked about what Nigel was like as a little boy and teenager, bringing up some rather embarrassing things from his past; Louisa even going back to when she changed his nappies! Nigel blushed and laughed at their comments; since it was only nice and rather cute things they were recalling.

After some general chit chat George took Nigel to one side to have a bit of a "man to man" with him. He wanted to make sure that he really was alright; bearing in mind he knew Nigel would keep certain things from Louisa and Alice, although he didn't realise he felt the need to hide some things from him too! He wanted to ensure that Nigel was keeping up with his studies, remembering to have his vaccinations, was eating properly and not drinking too much alcohol; although some of these questions were for Alice's benefit. Nigel had quite often phoned George over the past couple of years to tell him about the relics that he and Sydney had found; or just generally to chat. He'd sometimes mention his girlfriends, although he never indicated they were anything more than friends, bearing in mind George and Alice disapproved of sex outside of marriage and had no idea he was no longer a virgin. Of course, Nigel hadn't actually slept with any of his girlfriends for quite a while, so he really didn't have to hide that kind of thing from them of late. George also asked about his nightmares and Nigel promised he was seeing a doctor about them which, of course, was completely true. George gave Nigel another hug and told him that he and Alice were very proud that he'd grown up to be such a wonderful young man, although Nigel felt slightly guilty about that, almost feeling he should tell them what he'd been up to! However, not wanting to disappoint them and realising their views on sexual matters were rather old fashioned; he decided it was best not to mention it.

George then enquired if things were better between him and Preston, now that they'd 'worked' together on a relic hunt. Of course, Nigel told him "no" but added "I'm not frightened of him anymore though!" George was pleased to hear that because he could recall just how scared Nigel used to be of Preston, when he was a teenager. Nigel went on to describe what had happened on the hunt they'd just completed, explaining about Amanda and what she'd said to him. George was really saddened by that and told Nigel to be brave, that it wasn't his fault in any way and that he'd pray for Amanda.

George and Alice unfortunately had to leave in the early afternoon as they were flying off to Denmark the following morning for a two week holiday. They both hugged Nigel before they left and said they'd visit him in America later in the year, which really delighted him as they'd never done that before.

After they'd gone Nigel talked some more with his nanny about his life and the conversation eventually came round to Preston. Louisa surprised Nigel with the revelation that Preston was seeing a psychologist, called Doctor Bick, who was trying to help him deal with his past! "Sweetheart" she said "Preston had previously been seeing a psychiatrist, but that didn't help, so he's trying Doctor Bick who appears to be very skilled and has got him to open up. Preston's now beginning to understand himself more and is trying to cope with the fact that he was so often cruel to you! You know darling, when he spoke to you a year or so ago, when he told you about those nasty girls he'd entertained at the house, it really hit him hard how terribly he'd treated you. He came to me in floods of tears because you slammed the phone down on him and apparently ignored his calls when he attempted to speak to you again. I told him that he's not to ring again until he'd sorted himself out and that's when he started to seriously think about getting psychiatric help."

"Nana I was so angry with him, I suppose I still am really. I have to say though, I'm surprised he's getting counselling; he always acted like he was right about everything and never appeared to need help in any way" Nigel said, wondering what else he was going to hear about all this.

"Darling, I think we've all slightly misjudged Preston but Doctor Bick is gradually getting to the bottom of why he behaved so badly" she said, referring to the notes she'd made of the things Doctor Bick, with Preston's permission, had told her. "Sweetheart, he's discovered so far that when Preston was a child he had very low self-esteem and when everyone realised just how brilliant you were, he got an inferiority complex about it. However, as he got a bit older, because you thought he was so clever, and constantly praised everything he did and looked up to him; his inferiority complex became a superiority complex. In fact, we all encouraged and praised him extra hard, even for the slightest thing, so he wouldn't feel less important than you, consequently we all inadvertently contributed to making him act that way."

"So what's a superiority complex nana?" Nigel asked, believing he already knew!

She explained to Nigel, very basically, that people who have that problem cover up their own feelings of inferiority by exposing other people's weaknesses and in that way they feel superior to them. Nigel thought that exactly described how Preston was throughout his life, recalling the way he reacted to things and behaved towards others!

She went on "the doctor also found out that as a child Preston sometimes felt quite unloved, this coupled with his jealous nature, made him do things, especially to you, that he later regretted. Preston thought that your mum, dad and I loved you so much more than him; believing it was because you looked adorable and were a genius! Of course he was wrong; we loved you equally, even though you behaved so differently. Doctor Bick encouraged him to think back to how he behaved as a child and he remembered how disobedient he was and how extremely unkind he could be to you… and to the few friends he had. Of course, that didn't stop me, your parents, or even you from loving him, but it did mean he got punished quite often; particularly when he was spiteful to you. On the other hand you very rarely got smacked as a small child, unless you put yourself in danger. The doctor thinks that's how he got the idea that he wasn't loved as much as you were. Your parents only punished him because they didn't want him to grow up to be an unruly and disrespectful young man, who nobody would like. They hoped he'd listen to them and learn to become a better person.… looks and intelligence had nothing to do with it! Doctor Bick made him realise how truly loved he really was by everyone; in fact the doctor had some deep discussions with him about it! Preston now feels so much happier and I know he wants to make it up to you sweetheart. I've always known that he loves you but he's just been so unpredictable, you never knew what he was going to do next!"

Nigel sat and listened to her and thought what a wonderful woman she truly is to stick by Preston all this time and not give up on him; believing a lot of people would have in her situation.

Louisa saw how Nigel was listening to her and not jumping in to criticise, making her feel she was getting through to him, so she continued "he's got a terrible complex about his looks sweetheart. He actually revealed to the doctor that he's been jealous of your looks for years! As you know he's got an extremely competitive nature, something I don't think he'll ever be able to change; but your looks are something he could never compete with and that really bothered him! He believed it was his appearance that prevented him from getting a real girlfriend but, of course, it wasn't. Doctor Bick explained that deep down, because he felt inferior, he acted very arrogantly to cover that up and it was that behaviour that put girls off him, not his looks. The psychologist made him realise he should always focus on his good points, not what he considers are his less attractive features. He forced him to take a good look at himself in the mirror, so that he'd see he's actually got a very pleasant face, even if he's not what you might call strikingly handsome." Nigel smiled and thought, at least he's tall!

Louisa put her hand on Nigel's shoulder and said "sweetie Doctor Bick also came to the conclusion that Preston was far too young, mentally, at the age of nineteen, to take responsibly for you when your parents died. However, his competitive nature and superiority complex wouldn't allow him to seek help, even though, in the back of his mind he felt out of his depth. His fear of being judged by people, if he didn't do a perfect job of raising you, was also quite intense and was the main reason he became such a disciplinarian. Darling, you know I had no real say in your upbringing; if I could have stopped him smacking you, I would have. As it was, the best I could do was remind him that you were a very little boy who needed to be loved when you came home from school, not constantly punished. I tried my best to encourage him, if he felt he had to discipline you, to do it calmly, not in anger. I know now he deeply regrets punishing you so severely."

Nigel remembered overhearing her telling Preston to be careful with him on quite a few occasions; recalling it sometimes helped.

"I know you did everything you could to try to persuade him to go easy on me nana, I don't think I've ever thanked you for that; so thank you" he said, trying to make sure she understood he loves her and has never blamed her for anything that went on between him and Preston; not at any time but, particularly after their parents died.

"Oh darling you don't need to tell me that; now would you like something to eat or a cup of tea? I'm parched talking so much" she said, looking at him and thinking, she wished he'd had a happier relationship with Preston.

"Yes please nana, tea and a chocolate biscuit would be nice!" he said, thinking she's about the most understanding woman on the planet. A few minutes later she came back in with the tea and biscuits, sat down beside him, pushed his hair back off his face and said "sweetheart, like I was saying earlier, the main reason Preston decided to seek professional help was because he feels so guilty and ashamed about why he left you in boarding school. I know he tried to apologise to you, but you got so angry with him. What you really need to know is that his guilt isn't just about forcing you to stay at school, it's intensified, so much, by the fact that he chose his needs over yours!"

Nigel was stunned and now realised that Preston genuinely felt deep remorse for everything he'd done and was trying to come to terms with it. His feelings for his big brother began to soften, just like they had when he was little; as no matter what Preston had done to upset him, back then, he always forgave him.

"Sweetheart" Louisa continued "he didn't just go and see Doctor Bick; he's also been to anger management classes. As I said, he now realises he was far too rough with you and feels just awful about it. He told me that if he's lucky enough to have children of his own, he doesn't want to find himself doing the same thing to them! He's calmed down considerably in recent months, so I think the classes might be helping."

It wasn't easy for Nigel to forget about the pain that Preston had put him through; as he still had nightmares about it! He thought, however, that with the help of Doctor Baines, he might be able to come to terms with what Preston had done and be able to forgive him. However, he'd need his brother to truly show he was sincere about being sorry.

Nigel's memory was such that many details of his very young life were still crystal clear to him. As he thought back it suddenly occurred to him how Preston, as a young boy, might have felt second best! Nigel recalled that, before he could read, he would quite often interrupt his parents and nanny while they were playing or doing things with Preston, as he wanted them to read, cuddle or play with him. As a consequence Preston was sometimes forced to play by himself! Of course, at the time, Nigel had no idea of the affect he was having on Preston as he was far too young to understand.

After their long and involved conversation Nigel told Louisa that he was going to try and make a fresh start with Preston. He didn't know how it would work out, bearing in mind they were going to be thousands of miles apart, but he would do his best.

Louisa was delighted by Nigel's attitude and said "sweetheart you really are a wonderful young man, I'm so proud of you, you're becoming so much like your father; he was very forgiving too." She smiled at him and took the tray back into the kitchen; feeling on top of the world.

Nigel stayed the night with his nanny and slept really well, having no nightmares at all. For once, on this hunt, he'd been permitted to bring more than the bare essentials and had chosen to pack his little polar bear. He always liked to hold it when he had a bad night, as it helped him relax; although he was slightly embarrassed about it! That particular night it felt so right to have it there, realising that Preston must have cared about him a lot when he was a tiny baby, having spent his pocket money on that toy.

The following morning, to Nigel's delight, Uncle Frederick popped in to see him. Frederick, who was a very tall man, picked Nigel up, just like he used to when Nigel was six and swung him around while he hugged him! Nigel was glad when he stopped, as the spinning was making him nauseous! He put Nigel down and immediately wanted to discuss relic hunting, girlfriends and what it was like in America. They'd spoken on the phone lots of times but the conversations were short. Face to face, however, Nigel could go into more detail and they talked for quite a while. Frederick enjoyed watching Nigel get quite animated as he described some of the amazing hunts he been on. Stopping for a minute, Nigel sat on the floor; just like he did as a child, prompting Frederick to ask "are you certain you're alright son? I must say you look pretty normal, considering how strictly Preston brought you up! I thought you'd grow up to be a nervous wreck and not be able to socialise properly, particularly with girls. I think Preston should have sent you to a mixed school when you were thirteen, as you were so shy and lonely. He could, quite easily, have allowed you to do normal teenage things like buy your own clothes, go to the cinema and meet girls; but you were never allowed out alone."

"Uncle Frederick, I know why that was now; Preston and nana worried that because mum and dad were wealthy, I could have been kidnapped and held to ransom. For that same reason, when I was younger, I was never told about my inheritance, as they believed I could, naively, have told some unscrupulous person about it. I didn't actually mind not going out much when I was home from boarding school, as I had no friends, but I did do a few things on my own in Oxford and you'll recall that I had a girlfriend there too. Preston, of course, still bought my clothes for me, even when I went to Oxford, as he absolutely insisted they were purchased at Harrods" Nigel said, understanding his 'uncle's' concerns.

"I didn't actually know about their fears for you in that regard; but I can see now how sensible that was. I wasn't just concerned about your loneliness though, I used to worry about you getting hurt when Preston turned into such a disciplinarian; especially when he had such a nasty temper!" Frederick said, hoping Nigel wouldn't keep making excuses for his treatment.

"Yes Uncle Frederick, I remember that, but I suppose he might have had his reasons for acting the way he did" Nigel said, thinking about the things he and his nanny had discussed the previous day, realising Louisa had never discussed Preston's problems with him.

"I can't, for the life of me, think what those reasons might be! I always feared he'd go too far one day, forget how tiny you were and really hurt you! Thank goodness you appear to have came though it all relatively unscathed!" Frederick said, realising what an amazingly understanding young man Nigel had become.

"He did hurt me, but I'm alright, I got a lot worse at school!" Nigel said, hoping Frederick wouldn't think he was ungrateful but, of course, he didn't.

Louisa, Frederick and Nigel really enjoyed being together again and laughed about so many things that they'd all done together when Nigel was a child.

Nigel, unfortunately, knew he was going to have to leave very soon and meet up with Sydney. However, just before he left he plucked up the courage to ring her to ask a favour and said "Syd… I know I said I would be back this afternoon, but would you mind very much if I didn't come back until a bit later? There's something I really need to do."

"What is it Nigel? I thought you were going to give me a short tour of London" she said, thinking I wonder what he needs to do.

"I know but I need to do something, I thought I was going to be able to do it earlier but Uncle Frederick came to see me at nana's and I forgot the time, so I need some of this afternoon to myself…. please Syd" he said, hoping for a good response.

"You promised to take me to Trafalgar Square and Buckingham Palace, I was looking forward to it" she said, thinking the little devil, I bet he's met a girl.

"I know Syd, I'm sorry, but we could still do it a bit later on, please Syd, please" he begged.

"Not unless you tell me why! Is it a girl? Did you meet someone? Because if you did the answer's no! You keep your promise to me" she said, more because she didn't want to see his sad face on the plane when he'd have to leave her, than her own disappointment.

"No Syd, it's nothing like that honestly" he said.

"So what's so important that you have to let me down then?" she said, trying to think what else it could be.

"Oh, if you really have to know, I want to take some flowers to my mum and dad's graves" he said, not really wanting to mention it for fear of getting upset even before he got there.

"Oh Nigel, why on earth didn't you say so, of course you can do that, will you be alright? I'll come with you if you like; unless you'd rather be alone" she said, feeling quite awful for forcing it out of him.

"I'd prefer to be alone Syd" he said, thinking I know I'll cry and she's seen me do enough of that lately.

"OK Nigel, if you're absolutely sure, I'll see you later on, take care, bye" she said, thinking he'll be too upset to go out sightseeing when he gets back; so she'll just forget about it. She knew she'd probably get further opportunities to visit London and would do the tourist things then.

Nigel said a tearful goodbye to his nana and uncle, got in a taxi and made his way to the cemetery. He found his parent's graves quite easily and placed fresh roses on each of them. His eyes filled with tears as he said out loud "mummy, daddy, I love you and miss you as much now as the day you were taken from me." He stood there looking at the graves for about ten minutes, tears streaming down his face and then turned around to leave. As he did so he suddenly noticed that he wasn't alone at all, Nanny Wright and Uncle Frederick were standing about twenty five feet away! He ran over to them and they both hugged him at the same time, having realised he'd need some moral support after visiting the cemetery again after such a long time. Uncle Frederick pushed the hair out of Nigel's eyes and said "let me give you a lift back to your hotel son, you don't want to go in a taxi looking like that." Louisa gave him her handkerchief to wipe away the tears and they slowly walked to the car. Nigel was deep in thought during the short journey and didn't say a word until they got to the hotel. Then, blinking back the tears, he said "thank you for being there for me Uncle Frederick, nana, I don't know when I'll get to see you again but I hope it won't be too long." They hugged and kissed him again; Nigel trying to calm himself down before entering the hotel, although that was easier said than done!

Once inside, having got his key, he just ignored the stares he got from the receptionist, who'd seen his sore red eyes. He rushed up to his room and, having caught sight of his bedraggled appearance in a mirror, tried tidying himself up a little. Believing it would take too long to get showered and changed; the sights being best seen in the daylight, he went to see Sydney just as he was. She immediately noticed he'd been crying and asked "are you alright? You really don't have to take me on that tour you know, just come in and we can talk."

"Thanks Syd, I appreciate that but… um, do you mind if we don't talk, I'd really prefer to have a long soak in the bath and then have an early night before that long flight tomorrow; I'm sorry for being such a pain" he said, feeling quite relieved.

"Don't worry about it, you go and relax and I'll do the same" she said, feeling quite sorry for him as he left to go back to his room.

The next morning at breakfast he apologised to Sydney again for ruining her plans and for being so miserable. Feeling sympathetic she smiled and said "forget about it; you needed to visit the cemetery much more than I needed to see Trafalgar Square. I'm glad to see you're looking a lot brighter this morning; I can see you're OK by the way you tucking into your bacon and eggs!" He laughed and said "I feel better thanks."

"Now all we have to do is say goodbye to Preston and catch the flight back home" she said, giving Nigel a reassuring look. Nigel smiled and suddenly felt nervous at the thought of seeing Preston again, having had that talk with Louisa.

They made their way, once again, to the British Museum and went directly to Preston's office where Sydney said goodbye first, leaving Nigel there to do the same in private.

Preston looked at Nigel awkwardly and said "look Podge ... Nigel, I know I didn't make life easy for you when we were younger" to which Nigel replied "maybe that's OK, you know they say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

Preston then found the courage to say "but I do owe you an apology, I will never try to overshadow you again, you have your life, I have mine and we can both respect that." Nigel wasn't sure how sincere Preston was, as he'd done that all his life, so it would be hard to change now. However, not feeling like arguing and because of what his nanny had told him about Preston, he said "that's a deal!" They shook hands and Preston put his arm over Nigel's shoulders, saying "so tell me about Sydney, is she dating anybody?" This immediately irritated Nigel, because Sydney was "his!" He shouted at his brother "just leave Sydney alone; she wouldn't be interested in you, she likes big muscular men who can fight; you're definitely not her type!" He then realised that Preston was only joking as he'd never have the confidence to ask someone like Sydney out, even if they were living in the same country; but it was obvious he liked her.

"I suppose I'm not" Preston replied "but then again, neither are you Podge! Although I guess you do at least work with her!"

Nigel smiled, realising he was right and said "I'm really just her assistant, although she sort of looks upon me as a little brother. I guess we do 'love' each other, but not in the romantic sense. She really does go for men a lot different than you or me" Nigel said, wishing things were different at times.

It suddenly occurred to Preston that Nigel was being very honest and open about things, consequently he decided it was now or never; he had to try and put things right between them. He, therefore, asked Nigel to step into the staff room, which was opposite his office, and guided him over to the sofa where, with a very serious look on his face he said "Podge, you do realise I'm not just sorry for always trying to overshadow you, don't you?" He didn't give Nigel a chance to respond and continued "I'm really sorry for all the rotten things I did to you! You have no idea how dreadful I felt when we spoke about why I left you at boarding school. It was utterly selfish and disgracefully cruel of me to do that! I know now that I should never have put myself in a position where I'd need to protect you from those girls!" Nigel looked at him and was going to interrupt but then he saw the pained expression on his big brother's face, a look he'd rarely seen before. He felt for sure that Preston was going to cry and was truly touched by his heartfelt confession.

Preston continued "I'm so very sorry for smacking you like I did; even if you were rude to me at times. I should never have hit you that hard, you were so tiny, I should have controlled my temper; I realise that now. You know I've always felt terrible about that time, after mum and dad's funeral, when I was so angry with you. I should have been more supportive and sympathetic about your behaviour; you were just a little boy and I actually felt the same as you did! The trouble was I thought I had to behave like an adult and show everyone I could take charge of things, including you."

Nigel was so glad to hear Preston being so open and realised he simply needed to get things off his chest.

Peston continued "Podge, I hope you realise how sorry I am for not initially believing you'd been beaten and assaulted at school? I was an ignorant idiotic beast; I should have known the difference between that and the nonsense you told me before. I can hardly bear to think about how you must have felt. I know it's going to be really hard to forgive me, particularly for that, but please Nigel; I can't stand the thought of you hating me. It was just horrible when you wouldn't speak to me for such a long time, you're the only real family I have and I love you."

Nigel just stared at his big brother, mouth agape. He then drew a deep breath, smiled and said "thank…. thanks Preston, I… I'm sorry I was such a brat, I didn't mean to be, I just couldn't think of any other way to get through to you how unhappy I was."

"You were never a brat; if it wasn't for my ignorance and selfishness you probably would never have been rude at all. I guess I really hurt you when I punished you for that Podge?" Preston said, with a very sad expression on his face.

"My goodness, you certainly did! I couldn't sit down properly for days sometimes! I guess you did hug me once you'd calmed down though" Nigel said, recalling the pain he been through on so many occasions.

"About that, you know dad used to do exactly the same to me, until I was fourteen, if I was disrespectful, rude or disobedient. I was a hell of a lot stronger than you though, at that age, and he never gave me more than eight slaps or punished me in anger. I don't expect you know that dad was too frightened to smack you because he thought you were too fragile! I realise now though, it wasn't just that; you just behaved yourself, so he had no reason to punish you" Preston said, with a very sad look on his face.

"I didn't know that Preston, but I'm glad he didn't! Did dad never smack you after the age of fourteen?" Nigel asked, thinking about how old he was when Preston stopped punishing him that way, although not recalling having to comfort him much after that age.

"No, after that I was grounded or had privileges taken away from me" Preston said, wondering where this was going.

"You used to smack me when I was seventeen and you would have done when I was eighteen if Uncle George and Aunty Alice weren't around!" Nigel said, staring at his brother wondering what he would say to that.

"I know, Podge, I'm sorry, it's just that you were a hell of a lot smaller at seventeen, or even eighteen, than I was at fourteen and you were living with people who deserved your respect. I was always far more concerned about what people would think of me if I didn't discipline you, rather than what you, or anyone else would think, if I did. I used to believe that the reason the Ballys' told me you'd misbehaved was because they wanted me to punish you! Podge, I know now I got it all completely wrong, but please try not to hate me; I'm really trying to sort out why I did so many awful things to you. I'm even getting specialist help via a psychologist and I'm learning to control my temper" Preston said, feeling quite dreadful.

"Yes, I know Preston, nana told me; she said you wouldn't mind me knowing about it. All she wants is for me to forgive you, and for us to be a family again. I believe you really are sorry, especially about that bloody blanket incident; otherwise you wouldn't be putting yourself through therapy! You know if you'd have gone for that job in the normal way you'd probably still have got it; you didn't need to sabotage me. You're older and you had experience working at the Victoria and Albert Museum, it was quite unnecessary play that dirty trick on me!" Nigel said, trying not to get angry.

"Nigel I agonised over that so many times, I just can't tell you how sorry I am. I really behaved despicably to you; I guess I just wanted the job so badly. I didn't think I had a chance if you were on form; please Nigel, I need you to forgive me" he said, looking so dejected.

"Preston, I know I'll never be able to forget what you did, but I'll do my best to forgive you; I'm not promising anything though!" Nigel said, smiling a little as he realised just how sincere Preston was being and he'd never seen him cower away before!

"Oh Podge, thank you!" Preston said, feeling so relieved "oh can I just say one more thing? I'm sorry that I flaunted my five day old 'relationship' with Amanda. I just couldn't stop myself when I remembered you saying "she wouldn't touch me with a barge pole". I guess in the end though, you were right!"

"Preston, it's in your nature to compete, I just wish you wouldn't do it so spitefully" Nigel said; trying to get him to realise how awful it was to be on the receiving end of it.

"I know Podge" Preston said, looking down at the floor; feeling quite ashamed.

"I'm sorry Preston but I really have to go in a minute, Sydney's waiting for me" Nigel said, really wishing now he had more time to talk. Preston came closer, hugged him really tightly and said "Podge after the things I saw you do with Sydney I'm really worried you'll end up in prison, or worse! I want you to stop taking so many risks; if anything was to happen to you I don't know what I'd do." He kissed his little brother on the top of his head, something he hadn't done since Nigel was a little boy and said "bye Nigel." Nigel looked up at his big brother, saw the sincerity on his face and realised he was genuinely worried about him.

"Preston" Nigel said, "I'm all grown up now, even if I'm not very tall; it's my job to take risks! Sydney, as you saw, is a brilliant fighter, so she'll look after me, you don't need to worry. She's also known throughout the world as an honest relic hunter; there aren't many of those around, so we aren't the ones who'll get into trouble... well not much anyway! Most of the time we have the right papers and permits before we go on a hunt." Nigel gave his brother another hug and walked out of the staff room feeling quite good, although slightly emotional.

As was normal on a long haul flights, Sydney and Nigel had to be at the airport three hours before boarding their plane. During that time Nigel decided to do some last minute shopping, as some of his favourite shops were at the airport. He purchased a new laptop bag, some very expensive boots to wear on relic hunts and a large bottle of Sydney's favourite perfume, recalling she'd mentioned she needed some.

Once they'd boarded the plane Sydney was hoping to be able to talk to Nigel about Preston. She wanted to find out what had happened between them, when they were growing up, to cause so much animosity; bearing in mind she'd witnessed firsthand how they'd reacted to each other. She had no idea what had occurred in Preston's office, just before they left, as Nigel hadn't mentioned it. She'd noticed, however, that he'd taken a long time to say goodbye and appeared quite happy after that. She wondered, however, if it was because he knew he wouldn't be seeing Preston for a long time, or if they'd parted on good terms. She was about to ask him how he was feeling and to see if he wanted to talk when Nigel suddenly said "Syd, have you got any aspirin? I've got a rotten headache; I think I'll try and sleep for a while."

Sydney almost always carried pain killers in case they were needed on a hunt and handed them over to him saying "here take a couple of these; I guess I'll watch the movie while you sleep."

"Thanks Syd" he said, and asked the stewardess for some water. Nigel slept for about five hours and Sydney realised he'd probably not slept much the night before. She was glad he was sleeping so well now and not having nightmares; however, she really wanted to talk to him about his childhood.

Not long before they landed Nigel woke up. Sydney first checked his headache was gone, which he said it was, yet he appeared quite distracted. The stewardess brought him some water, without him even asking, obviously thinking he was rather cute and looked dehydrated. After a minute or two Sydney decided to just go for it and said "Nigel, now you're all rested, do you feel like discussing what happened between you and Preston when you were a kid to make you dislike each other so much?"

He knew Sydney wasn't just snooping; he realised she cared about him and that she felt the need to know more about his past; particularly since she'd found out he'd been beaten at school and because his nightmare problem. However, having spoken to Nanny Wright about Preston, and having received quite a heartfelt apology from him, he wasn't sure how it would affect him to discuss this now. It could, of course, make him even more understanding by forcing him remember some of the nice things that Preston did in the past. However it could also make him angry again; or even worse, make him feel guilty about some further things he might have inadvertently said or done, as a child, which consequently made things difficult for Preston, he'd already recalled a few!

"Syd, I'm not sure what good that will do right at this minute, so can we just wait a while, I don't think I'm ready yet" he said with a very worried look on his face.

"That's fine Nigel but I was wondering; would you like to stay at my house for the weekend? I'll make some of those cookies you like and I'll be there if you need to talk. I think if you go home you'll just keep mulling everything over and feel quite miserable; then you'll end up returning to work on Monday in a bad mood" she said, knowing him quite well on that score!

"Um, alright Syd; thanks, that would be really nice. I'm not promising I'll talk about Preston, but I might" he said, wondering what she'll think of him once he does open up to her. He considered the possibility that she may not feel the same about him afterwards and may even pity him, or even worse, think he's being ridiculous! Just as he was thinking that the pilot suddenly announced it was time to fasten their seatbelts and prepare for landing.

Once they'd landed and cleared customs Sydney arranged for a taxi to take them to her house. It was quite a long drive from Logan International Airport and a taxi, although quite expensive, was the fastest way to get there. Upon arrival Nigel took his suitcase into Sydney's spare bedroom, where he'd stayed a few times when he'd been ill, or they had an exceptionally early flight. Sydney put her case in her bedroom, showered and changed and then ordered some Chinese food. Nigel, having also freshened up, took the opportunity to ring home while they waited for their food to arrive, telling his nanny he was missing her already!

Just before the food arrived Nigel found the perfume he'd bought for Sydney and took it into the kitchen where she was busy checking the cupboards to see what groceries she needed. "Syd" Nigel said, rather shyly "I've bought you a small gift to say sorry for spoiling your afternoon yesterday, I think it's what you like." He handed her the present, which he'd had gift wrapped, hoping she'd be pleased. However, she wasn't just pleased she was totally stunned, realising it must have cost a fortune by the size of the bottle. "Thank you so much Nigel, you really shouldn't have, you certainly don't need to apologise!" she said, as she gave him a huge hug and kissed his cheek, causing him to blush scarlet. As luck would have it, the door bell rang right then; giving him an excuse to leave the room. He rushed out to collect the food; hoping Sydney hadn't noticed his red face.

After dinner Sydney asked Nigel to sit down and relax; putting on a CD that she knew he liked to help him unwind. Pouring out a small glass of wine she asked if he was feeling alright, having noticed he was yawning during dinner and didn't eat a lot. He told her he felt absolutely exhausted, despite having slept on the plane, and his headache was back as well. Since she felt quite tired too she told him to go to bed, handed him a couple of aspirins and went to bed herself.

She'd probably been asleep for a couple of hours when suddenly she heard Nigel in the other room screaming and shouting for mummy! Nigel calling that out always particularly upset her as when her mother passed away, when she was a child, she had terrible dreams just like that. She rushed into his room and shook him, trying to wake him up; but he still kept thrashing around and crying. She shook him a little more and said "Nigel, Nigel wake up; are you alright!" She pushed the hair off his face, trying to get him to respond, when suddenly he sat bolt upright and yelled "I'm going to be sick!" She ran to the kitchen, grabbed hold of a large mixing bowl, rushed back to the bedroom and, just in the nick of time, placed it on his lap! He was sick three times; then appeared to be much better, although he looked very pale. She wiped the perspiration off his face and helped him lie back down, feeling his head at the same time to check if he had a fever. He was quite warm but that appeared to be more from the strain of vomiting than anything else.

"Do you feel better now Nigel?" she asked, feeling the need to stay with him to enquire about his dream.

"Yes, much better now, go back to bed; I'll be fine, it's probably something I ate" he said, looking at her so sadly; obviously not really wanting her to leave; but feeling guilty for disturbing her sleep. She sat back down and said gently "Nigel please tell me what you were dreaming about, you sounded so unhappy."

"Oh just the usual things, go back to your room, I'll try not to disturb you again" he said, looking up at her and then back down at the bed.

"Nigel I'm not going to be able to sleep now, why don't you talk to me about your nightmares and about what happened between you and Preston to make you so unkind to each other." She wiped his face again, sat at the top of the bed, pushed him over a little and got in with him.

He looked really nervous, then taking a deep breath he said "Oh alright, alright, I guess I'm about as ready as I'll ever be. I've had a long talk with my nanny about Preston and she explained some things about him that I didn't know, so I'm not feeling quite as angry with him now. I've talked with Preston too; that's why I was so long saying goodbye. I'll try and tell you as much as I can but you'll have to forgive me if I get a bit teary eyed; I hate thinking or talking about those things; but as I've just said, I've done it a lot just lately!"

"Nigel just go slowly" Sydney said, putting her arm around his shoulder.

"I'm not even sure I'll be able to explain everything to you, but I'll do my best. Doctor Baines has been trying to persuade me to talk to you about things for ages, especially my nightmares. He believes they'll become less frequent if I discuss them, but I simply couldn't face doing that before; I was just too angry with Preston, who's the main cause of my nightmares! I'm not really sure where to begin, so perhaps I'll start with the thing that's gone on for the longest time between Preston and me; the rivalry. You sort of witnessed a bit of that although, believe it or not, he's better than he used to be and I've never really retaliated like that before! The thing is Preston always had to compete with me, no matter what I did; even though he's seven years older than me, he simply had to do better!" Nigel briefly explained how Preston went about this, relaying to her how demoralised it used to make him feel.

Sydney considered what he'd told her and said "it sounds like you had a tough time growing up with him; he certainly sounds like a bit of a bully. You know I've had visions of all sorts of terrible things since I saw your reaction to each other, so I guess there's a lot more to your problems than that!"

"There is Syd, the competing was far from the only problem; that's just how he behaved most of the time when we were growing up. He was nice to me sometimes though, like when he bought me a fluffy polar bear from London Zoo." Nigel picked it up and showed it her saying "look I still have it!"

"Oh that's so sweet Nigel, I've seen it in your bedroom a few times, but I'm surprised you love it so much, if Preston bought it for you!" she said, with a curious look on her face.

"He gave it to me when I was just a baby and I got so used to cuddling it, I couldn't sleep without it, so mum and nanny always put it on my bed. Even when I was at boarding school, I still had to have it! I know it sounds silly and you probably think I'm childish to still have it, but if I'm alone at home and my nightmares are really bad, it helps to calm me down when I hold it" Nigel said, feeling really embarrassed.

"If you need it Nigel, you need it, I'm not going to poke fun at you; I usually stroke the cat when I'm feeling unsettled" she said, trying hard to make Nigel realise she understood his need.

"Syd, like I said he wasn't always horrible to me, he used to read to me and play with me when I was really little, in fact he was a great brother until anyone made a fuss of me. I've now found out that he wasn't just jealous of me getting attention; he was jealous because I wasn't paying any attention to him, although I didn't realise that at the time! Unfortunately, his jealously made him very devious and unkind, and he did some rather nasty things to me because of it, which confused me when I was really young" he said, feeling a little stressed. He continued telling her about the many cruel tricks his brother played on him, remembering particularly when Preston pushed him on the roundabout and made him throw up and the incident with the matches. Sydney, who still had her arm around his shoulders, just held him to keep him calm.

"Syd, I loved him so much when I was a little, even though he did those ghastly things to me. Unfortunately, he didn't stop poking fun at me and being insensitive, even when I got older" he said, explaining how, when he was nine, Preston took him to a spooky museum, to see the skeleton of the Elephant Man; relaying the horror he'd experienced that day. "I guess you've noticed that every time we see a skeleton on one of our hunts I cringe, although you must admit, I'm getting a lot better. They don't freak me out so much in reality anymore; only in my nightmares!"

Nigel recalled several other incidents where Preston did some appalling things to him and was later punished by their parents for being unkind. "I didn't always tell mum and dad about the things he did to me, not only because I was frightened he'd retaliate with something worse, but because I hated hearing him cry when he was smacked. I used to go to his room after he'd been punished to cuddle him and he always apologised to me and promised he wouldn't do it again. Of course he never really played the same trick on me twice; so I guess in some ways, he told the truth!"

Sydney was very impressed that Nigel, even when he'd been treated so abysmally, still behaved in a kind and caring manner towards his brother.

Nigel then told Sydney about his parents; and how Preston's behaviour became quite erratic after they died. Just thinking about this made Nigel very uneasy; his nerves causing his voice to squeak a little. Sydney got him a glass of water, which helped a bit and enabled him to continue. "He… he was nineteen, I was um, twelve and at first he was the most loving brother you could ever wish to meet, but then he suddenly changed. I thought it was because he felt, like I did at the time, it was my fault that mum and dad died." Nigel explained the reasoning behind this hoping that Sydney would understand. She felt very sorry for him and said "It most definitely wasn't your fault Nigel, it was a tragic accident, but I can appreciate why you, as a child, might have felt guilty about what happened; you'd asked them to reconsider your schooling needs; causing them to be at the place they were killed" she said, understanding precisely Nigel's reasoning; thinking just how painful that time must have been for him.

"Syd, not too long ago I asked Preston if he blamed me for what happened to mum and dad and he confessed that he did initially, although not for long; but that was the reason he sent me to that particular school!" Nigel said, trying not to cry.

"That's terrible Nigel, he was old enough to realise that accidents just happen, that was a despicable act on his part to send you there as punishment!" she said, feeling quite infuriated.

Sydney listened in horror as Nigel told her about the first few months following his parent's death, noticing that Nigel was getting distressed as he remembered certain matters; particularly with regard to boarding school.

Even though Sydney knew that Nigel had been severely beaten, on one occasion, at school, and had been caned a few other times, she hadn't realised just how bad things actually were for him. She'd obviously known for quite a while that he detested his school, although she'd only recently discovered he wasn't talking about a day school. She'd been shocked when he revealed, during a visit to France, when they were investigating the origins of an executioner's mask, that it was, in fact, a boarding school he'd attended. She had no idea when Nigel said that his school was "a cold and cruel institution that was presided over by a staunch heartless headmistress we 'fondly' referred to as the Dragon Lady!" that he was absolutely serious. She, therefore, tried to encourage him to tell her what his school was really like, not realising the true extent of his hatred.

Nigel looked really pained and a little uncomfortable as he recalled how all through his time at the academy he was bullied by bigger boys and prefects, who made cruel remarks to him about being an orphan, or caned him for the sake of it.

"My backside would be sore for ages after some of those canings Syd! It was even worse though when they hit me across the backs of my legs; sometimes I was in such pain I could hardly walk!" he said, wincing at the thought of it.

He then went on to explain to her about the code of conduct and the fact that Preston would have punished him again if he'd heard he'd been in trouble at school. Sydney was absolutely appalled to hear all of these things and completely understood now why Nigel hated boarding school.

"You must have been a very unhappy little boy Nigel. However, regardless of codes of conduct and your fear of Preston, you surely must have said something!" she said, thinking how dreadful things must have been for him; hoping things have improved at the school since then.

"Syd I constantly complained to Preston about the school but, of course, I didn't tell him I'd been punished for obvious reasons! I just made up all sorts of bad things about the place, hoping he'd take pity on me and let me live at home, but he never did! I'd get really angry and upset with him, as he wouldn't listen to me, but when I lost my temper; my God did he punish me! He'd drag me up to my bedroom, pull out a wooden chair, haul me over his lap and smack my backside really hard. I'd scream and cry but he wouldn't stop until his anger had gone and he'd calmed down. He sometimes hit me for over five minutes; then he'd pick me up, stand me on the chair and hug me, saying he loved me but believed it was his duty to discipline me. I know I shouldn't have lost my temper and that mum and dad would have punished me if I'd been rude, but not as severely as Preston did! I was completely powerless to prevent him from doing this! Even at seventeen I was only about five feet five tall and I was really skinny; I just couldn't get away from him" Nigel said, blushing bright red as he talked about these experiences, realising he was suddenly feeling angry about this again, although he wished he wasn't.

"Those punishments are another thing I have nightmares about Syd; I didn't even go into my old bedroom when we were at the house the other day, I didn't want to see that wooden chair!" he said, wiping away the few tears he shed while describing this.

He looked at Sydney and, to his astonishment, saw she was just staring at him with tears in her eyes too. She pulled him closer, allowing her tears to fall and said "Nigel I'm so very sorry, I had absolutely no idea you'd been through so much. I could kill Preston for hitting you like that; it sounds to me like abuse, not just discipline! But why didn't Mrs Wright stop him?"

"She tried really hard to prevent him from hitting me, particularly when he was angry; but Preston was in charge and he could fly into a rage so quickly!" he said.

"I hope nothing else happened to you and that your life's been happier since you've grown up!" Sydney said, pushing the hair off his face again and trying to smile.

"Well Syd" he said, as he wiped his eyes once more "there's still one thing that I probably should have told you a long time ago; it's yet another thing that gives me nightmares and it's the reason I shy away from certain people. It happened at school on my thirteenth birthday; I … I was, was um, sex… sexually assaulted by one of my teachers." He looked down at the bed again but before he could say another word Sydney screamed "No! Nigel No! Not that! That's the one thing I prayed you weren't going to tell me!"

"Syd, he didn't rape me" he said, trying to hold back the tears; shyly explaining what that perverted teacher had done to him and how he threatened his family. Sydney was dumfounded, if she'd have held Nigel any tighter she'd have probably bruised him!

"Nigel, you're so brave; it wasn't your fault, you know that don't you?" she said; wishing she could come face to face with that monster and kick the hell out of him.

"Yes I know Syd" he said, looking so sad his face still wet from his tears.

Sydney now felt as distressed as Nigel because, ever since she'd first laid eyes on her young assistant, she felt very protective towards him; thinking he looked so lost and in need of a friend. What troubled her most right now was that, even though she could protect him from a lot of things, she couldn't protect him from his past. She kept on holding him as she mulled over what he'd said; then an awful thought suddenly struck her and she gently said "Nigel, you don't have to say anymore if you're not up to it, but I was under the impression you didn't leave boarding school until you were fifteen, which means, if I heard you correctly, you were there two years after you were assaulted; that's not right is it! It can't be, surely!"

"Syd, I had no choice but to stay there, I was too afraid to tell anyone what happened for fear of what that teacher would do; I believed he'd kill me, nanny and Preston!" he said, looking deeply upset again.

"Oh my God Nigel! Are you telling me you've kept that a secret all these years! You really shouldn't have done that! That teacher should have been locked up in prison, out of harm's way!" Sydney said, hoping her shocked comment didn't make him feel any worse.

"Syd! Syd! I did tell Preston what happened eventually, although it was two years later, right after I was so badly thrashed by those prefects" he said, hoping she didn't think he was a complete idiot. He told her how angry Preston was that he'd accused his teacher of such a thing and about the terror he'd experienced, that night, worrying that Preston might punish him on top of that brutal beating. "I've been trying hard to come to terms with those particular incidents for years, which hasn't been easy, but I'm getting there, with the help of Doctor Baines" he said, "he's been a wonderful doctor and friend to me."

Nigel went on to describe how, when he had yellow fever, John Baines made him think hard about what type of person that teacher was, and the possibility he was still assaulting children. Once he'd told Sydney what he'd discovered when he'd rung his old school, Sydney was stunned and said "Nigel why the hell didn't you tell me all that was going on when you were so sick? You were in no condition to deal with all that alone!"

"Syd, I just couldn't discuss something like that with you back then; I only talked to Doctor Baines because he saw my scars when he vaccinated me. He was so kind and he got me talking about so many things; nobody else has ever done that until now. You must be able to tell how difficult it is for me to talk about this!" he said, with a very pained expression on his face.

"Oh Nigel, of course I can, I realise how shy you can be and with everything that's happened in your life, it's hardly surprising! There's one thing that's bothering me though; even if Preston didn't believe you'd been assaulted; why didn't he remove you from that school? It must have been obvious to him you were desperately unhappy by the amount of complaints and stories you made up about it! You said earlier he only blamed you for your parent's death for a little while, so that wasn't the reason" she said, feeling quite agitated.

"No it wasn't" Nigel said "but for years, prior to that revelation, I genuinely thought it was; I couldn't think of any other motivation for it!"

Sydney started to feel really angry with Preston for his ignorant behaviour, believing he must have done it out of spite. However, Nigel eventually plucked up the courage to explain the real reason he'd been sent back to school.

She was absolutely appalled and yelled "prostitutes! prostitutes! He let you suffer like that so he could have sex!" She got really angry and was about to scream blue murder at Preston, over the phone, when Nigel grabbed her arm and said "Syd hang on a minute, let me finish telling you everything, including what I've learned recently about him, alright?"

"Well alright, but I am going to kill him you know!" she said, hoping Nigel wasn't going to tell her something even worse!

"Syd, he did lots more mean things, but now that you've met Preston, and seen where we grew up and have even met Amanda, I want you to know the reason why I left home. You'll understand then why I was so reluctant to go back to London and go into Preston's office" Nigel said, hoping he didn't sound ridiculous.

"I know you were upset and that you wanted the job that Preston got, but I thought it was just because you were a little jealous" she said.

"Syd, he played a particularly spiteful trick on me so he'd get that curator's job instead of me" he said, his voice croaking again as he explained about the blanket, Amanda and the details of that terrible fight he'd had with Preston. Sydney was outranged and ran over to the telephone yelling "the bastard! He must have known how serious your allergy is!"

Nigel grabbed hold of her hand again, trying to stop her and said quite firmly "No Syd! Please, wait a minute, sit down and let me explain what Nanny Wright told me a couple of days ago about Preston, then if you want to ring him and give him a piece of your mind, feel free!" Intrigued, she sat back on the bed again; waiting for his explanation.

"Syd I got such a shock, nana told me that Preston's seeing a psychologist as he's so mixed up about the past, and what he did to me!" Nigel said, looking at Sydney to see her reaction. Having met Preston; Sydney was as surprised as Nigel, who briefly tried to explain what Doctor Bick's diagnosis was so far. Sydney was fascinated, although slightly confused and said "Nigel I know what an inferiority complex is, but what exactly is a superiority complex?"

Nigel tried to think how best to describe it and said "Syd, before I was born Preston had had our parents' and nanny's complete attention for seven years. Then when I came along and proved to be… shall we say… brighter than most, it apparently made Preston, who is actually very intelligent, feel threatened, and he got a really bad inferiority complex. He actually believed mum and dad wouldn't love him anymore if he wasn't as clever as, or even smarter, than me. Because he felt like this he just couldn't stop himself pointing out everyone's faults; especially mine, making me, his friends; or in later life, his colleagues, look and feel completely stupid. He believed that doing this would make him look better than other people; particularly when he'd knocked their confidence and made them feel incompetent. His deluded mind eventually made him believe he was 'better' than everyone else. This is how people behave when they have a superiority complex; they have an exaggerated feeling of superiority, which is really just a defence mechanism which helps them overcome, or conceal, their true feelings of inferiority! Doctor Bick advised that people who have a superiority complex are often bullies who gain a sense of satisfaction from the control they believe they have over others. Like I tried to explain earlier Syd, when I was little, all I wanted was to be able to enjoy things like playing the piano, football, cricket or even painting. I didn't care which of us was better than the other, everything I did was academic; I just wanted to have some fun, but he always made me feel so bloody useless and the fun went out of it." Nigel hoped his explanation of Doctor Bick's diagnosis was correct, as his nanny had referred to notes when she explained it. Nigel, however, relied on his memory, which although was still exceptional, wasn't quite as remarkable as when he was a child and he'd get frustrated when he forgot something!

Sydney began to see just how difficult it must been for Preston, with no confidence in himself, to have been presented with a brother who was so brilliant. She also thought how awful it must have been for an exceptionally gifted child, like Nigel, to have to live with someone like Preston! She mulled it all over in her mind for a few more minutes and said "well I guess it's no wonder Preston behaved so oddly, he sounds like one mixed up guy!"

"Yes he really is; I didn't know that though before speaking to nanny, all I knew was he acted like a bully, although he never ever hit me before mum and dad died, it was all verbal torment or cruel practical jokes. It appears that when mum or dad punished him, although he didn't like it, he was getting their full attention and he knew I would always comfort him afterwards. Doctor Bick believes he did a lot of bad things just to get attention. He wasn't left out of things though, dad always asked him to join in whatever game we were playing, but he always said he was too old" Nigel said, remembering those wonderful days when he was so happy playing with his dad.

"He was probably jealous that you and your dad were so close and if you were already playing before he was asked to join in, he might have felt like an afterthought! He probably said he was too old so that your dad would argue that he wasn't and would try to encourage him to play, that way he'd not only get your dad's attention, he would steal him away from you!" Sydney said, recalling she had a friend who used to do the same thing.

"I never thought of that!" he said, trying to think back; bringing to mind quite a few occasions where his dad had stopped their game to see that Preston was alright and hadn't continued playing afterwards.

"He must have been so insecure Nigel; and a bit misunderstood too" she said, wishing Preston's problems had been spotted early on so that Nigel would have had a happier childhood.

"Yes, I suppose he was really and nanny said he's got a terrible complex about his looks too!" Nigel said, feeling rather awkward.

"There's nothing particularly wrong with the way he looks" she said, wondering why he felt that way.

"He just sort of convinced himself that I was better looking than him, that's all really" Nigel said feeling quite embarrassed.

"Oh" she said, thinking I can see why!

Nigel continued "He's apparently felt that way for years but the thing is, Preston told nana that when he was at Cambridge he overheard a girl say she didn't actually fancy him at all, but that she was going to go out with him because he was rich. That remark deeply hurt him and was, apparently what made him start looking for prostitutes. He told me not long ago that he wanted to protect me from those girls and that's why he kept me at school, which is something I will probably always feel angry about. I suppose though, if he really thought I was just exaggerating about how bad the school was and he genuinely thought he'd never get a proper girlfriend, who'd love him for himself; then he did what he felt he had to do, as selfish as it was!"

"I can see how in his twisted mind he might have thought that was right; but it was very selfish indeed! He knew you were unhappy" she replied

"I know but I can't change the past and neither can he, but if I keep on refusing to speak to him, or see him, I'm making myself suffer unnecessarily. I hadn't been home for two and a half years and I missed nana and everyone else terribly. Deep down I suppose I missed Preston too, even if I was angry with him; he's the only real family I have. I know I've got to try and come to terms with all this and start again, even if it's difficult. I realise Preston will still try and compete with me for this and that, but I definitely don't think he'll deliberately hurt me anymore. He apologised to me, quite sincerely, yesterday and he remembered so many of the bad things he'd done, I was quite amazed. I know when I see him again we'll still have issues, but nothing like as bad as before. It helps me to remember that he did make sure I got a good education; as horrible as that school was. I was taught good moral values and protected from anything even slightly sordid; regardless of the fact that he was doing some rather sleazy things! You know he was never given a choice about whether or not to look after me when mum and dad died; it was just expected of him. He had to go to university, run the house, pay the bills and keep up with the charity works mum and dad had been a part of. He bought all my clothes for me from Harrods, except my underwear, he let me choose my own, thank goodness; I always got the thickest ones for obvious reasons! He always insisted I had a new school uniform every six months, even though I hadn't out grown the previous one. He just couldn't bear the thought of being criticised about my upbringing so I had to look perfect in front of all of our parent's friends" Nigel said, thinking just how difficult it was for both of them after their parents died.

"Syd, do you still want to give him a verbal battering? He does deserve it but I guess it might be better if you didn't" Nigel said, hoping that after everything he'd just said and remembered about Preston, he'd really be able to forgive him; even though talking about it right now was quite upsetting.

"Well I guess not, I suppose some of those nasty things were done when he was still a boy himself, and later on, like you've just said, it must have been really difficult for him to look after a twelve year old, when he was only nineteen; so I guess he shouldn't be hung for it! I do think he's extremely smart and if he ever comes to me with clues to find another relic, I doubt I'll turn him down" she said, looking a lot happier now that Nigel had explained things to her, although deep down she was rather unhappy about Preston's treatment of Nigel.

"My feelings are still a bit mixed up about Preston but I think I understand him better than I did, at least I know he's not evil! Doctor Baines told me I shouldn't hate him and, come to think of it, he more or less guessed what was wrong with him!" Nigel said, with a surprised look on his face.

"Nigel I'm so glad you told me about Preston and what makes your nightmares so awful. Now you've told me I hope you'll feel able to talk to me when you have a bad night, although I expect you'll still want to talk to John sometimes" she said, realising now just what it took for him to explain his rather difficult life to her.

"I will Syd, but Doctor Baines has helped me so many times; holding my polar bear doesn't always do the trick if I've had a very intense dream! It's so good to have him at the end of the phone, especially when we've been on a really frightening hunt, when my nightmares tend to intensify. He believes that sufferers should discuss their bad dreams to lessen their frequency; I just couldn't face telling anyone else but him until now" Nigel said, hoping she understood why.

"I'm glad John's helping you because occasionally your dreams really upset me; you sometimes cry quite pitifully. You know I have a nightmare every now and again about a man I saw murder someone I loved; one of these days I'm going to kill him!" she said, feeling agitated at the thought of it.

"Oh my God Syd; I wish you'd told me before, I'm so sorry for being so selfish, tell me what happened, can I help you find him?" Nigel said, sitting up straight and yawning.

"Well Nigel, now you know how I felt when you wouldn't tell me things!" she said, putting her face about an inch away from his; giving him a fake menacing look! "Seriously though, let me tell you about that another time, it happened years ago and it's a long story; you look like you're about to fall asleep again" she said, getting off the bed and walking towards the door. Suddenly she stopped dead in her tracks, turned around again, walked back to the bed and sat down. Then with a serious expression on her face she said "Nigel, there is one thing I'd like to ask you before you go back to sleep; you don't have to tell me because it's very personal" she said, sincerely.

"Um, what is it Syd?" Nigel asked, thinking I bet it's something really embarrassing.

"Nigel, you've had a few girlfriends since I've known you but your relationships never seemed to last that long. I sometimes got the impression, when you asked my advice about some of those girls, that you weren't having, shall we say… a full relationship with them. It's not that any of them said anything to me; it's just that you sounded so utterly innocent when you talked about them. As I said, you don't have to say anything but I'd really like to know if you're actually still, you know….. a virgin?" she said, almost blushing herself.

Nigel looked at her, mouth wide open and said "Um, no Syd… not… not now … but I was until I came to America." He felt quite uncomfortable and looked down at the bed, trying hard not to blush.

Not surprisingly she realised he felt quite awkward but couldn't resist asking "was it Nicole or Cate?"

"Um no, I met a girl called Sherry, who was an air hostess on the plane I originally flew over here on; I had my first sexual experience with her" he said explaining what happened to her and how he felt.

"Oh Nigel I'm sorry" Sydney said, almost wishing she hadn't asked now "you really don't have much luck with girls!"

Nigel still felt a little self conscious but realising Sydney wasn't laughing at him, and feeling the need to be honest, he said "I've actually only had one other sexual partner and that was Lori; you'll probably remember her from Chicago. I never slept with any of my other girlfriends; not even Cate. I used to constantly worry that they'd go off me, or make fun of me; if they saw my scars. By the time I felt relaxed in their company, something always seemed to happen and we'd split up! Like with Cate, I was just getting confident around her when she dumped me! I know I let you believe I'd slept with Mika, but I didn't, I was just too embarrassed to tell you the truth when you seemed so proud of me for experimenting with Casanova's Book!" He explained what actually did happen to cause him to come limping into the office that day. Sydney just smiled understandingly; not wishing to embarrass him further and said "I guess your life's been quite difficult, particularly in respect of girls, but I'm so glad you told me. I'm kind of wondering about Amanda though, she's obviously older than you so I'm surprised things didn't progress sexually with her."

Nigel looked at Sydney and explained "although we were together for a couple of years, I was never emotionally ready for sex. I think she realised that and never pressurised me into doing anything. She wasn't always a money grabber; at least I don't believe she was! She was actually very kind and caring at one time. I guess I'm just a bit immature because of my upbringing; I even went to a boys' only school before I went to boarding school. I also think Uncle George and Aunty Alice had a profound influence on me as I always tried my best to respect their beliefs and obey them; I wanted them to be proud of me. I felt terribly guilty when I spoke to them the other day as, since I've lived over here, I've done all the things they taught me not to do! You won't tell them, or anyone else about the things we've discussed, will you Syd?"

"Nigel, of course I won't! How could you think I'd do something like that!" she said, realising that, in fact, he only said that because he felt so uncomfortable at that moment and that he must actually totally trust her.

"Sorry Syd, I know you wouldn't do that; I wish now I'd had the guts to tell you everything before; I guess for a little while though I was worried you might laugh at me" he said, yawning again "I really need to go to sleep now; I'll try not to have any nightmares!"

"Your life's nothing to laugh at Nigel! I don't know of anyone else who's been through such a traumatic time as you have; I'm quite amazed by your bravery! Now are you absolutely sure you're OK?" she said, kissing the top of his head; realising just how much she really cares about him.

"I'm fine now Syd" he said, sleepily.

She left the room and thought about the young man who'd now become her constant companion; who'd been through so much in his short life and had been scarred, both physically and mentally, by the traumatic experiences he'd had.

She recalled the first day she'd met him, looking so bewildered and innocent and realised just how far he'd come since then, particularly with regard to relic hunting. To say he'd gone above and beyond what should have been expected of a teaching assistant, was understating it! He'd had a gun at his head countless times, knives and spears thrown at him, been put in front of the firing squad, stepped on a landmine, been offered as a human sacrifice and parachuted out of planes! Parachuting was something he found to be so unnatural; even the thought of it petrified him, but he did it anyway! He'd even rappelled down a 200 foot cliff, which was poles apart from what he'd done as a child, when he'd abseiled down a rock face in full protective gear; using professional equipment. To lower himself down a cliff with a looped rope, a metal ring and no helmet, was positively death-defying, especially considering his fear of heights! He'd faced his worst nightmares so many times, been deprived of food and warmth and gone through countless other terrifying things. Of course, he'd complained at times but, after all, he's only human! The fact is, Sydney had no doubt, if she asked him, he'd follow her to the ends of the earth!

Sydney felt now that she understood her young assistant so much better following their heart-wrenching discussion. The fact that Nigel was gaining in confidence every day, as he worked with her, made her feel that no matter how brilliant he'd been so far, his best was yet to come. There was absolutely no doubt in her mind either that, one day, he'd become a professor; believing he'd continue to develop into an outstanding man, as he gradually experienced all that life could offer. His brilliance had always amazed her but now she knew for sure, he really was the most courageous young man she'd ever met. In fact, little did she know, but within the next few weeks she was about to discover that her plucky young assistant really was… Nigel the Brave!

T H E E N D!... **Well sort of - **

**'Chapter 12' will be the answers to where all of the comments that Nigel made came from, you'll be surprised! ****PLEASE REVIEW if you liked this story. Think how you would feel if you wrote a story as complicated as this and people forgot to review! I would like to hear from you even if you're reading it a long time after the story was placed on this fan fiction site. I am quite happy to review other Relic Hunter stories, in fact, I quite ****often do!**


	12. The Answers

**This is not a continuation of the story****, as I said at the end of chapter 11; this is just to let everyone know where the ideas/quotes for "Nigel from the Beginning" came from.**

I initially challenged all readers of "Nigel from the Beginning" to say how many comments about Nigel they could spot in the story. Not one person answered that challenge. However, I had quite a few messages from readers who either asked for the answers or said, basically, that they don't remember many personal things being said about Nigel in the show. One person actually said that they thought I did a "bang up job" of the story but the reason they didn't review was because "there was nothing in the show about Nigel growing up".

I, therefore, decided that the best thing to do was add this to the end of the story to show that quite a bit of it did actually come from the series.

Once you have read the list you will probably want to go and watch the shows again to see if you can spot the quotes etc; which is fine because they are all out on DVD and they are still being shown on television all over the world (in 2010).

I have listed the chapters, noted roughly what they contain and then added what episode the content/idea came from – (I may still have missed some!)

**SO HERE ARE THE ANSWERS!**

**CHAPTER ONE  
****The New Arrival**

Nigel had a brother called Preston – "The Royal Ring" & "Fountain of Youth"

The house Nigel grew up in (I say passed on from generation to generation) – "The Royal Ring"

Obviously he was called Nigel – Every episode!

Nigel's date of birth was 10th May – "Emperor's Bride"

Nigel and Preston looked very different – "The Royal Ring" & "Fountain of Youth"

Nigel being tickled by his mother – "Memories of Montmartre"

Nigel has a dislike of beetles – "Buddha's Bowl"

Nigel felt woozy when he was swinging – "Emperor's Bride"

Nigel's nickname was Podge – "The Royal Ring" & "Fountain of Youth"

Nigel always jumps when someone shouts at him! Lots of episodes

**CHAPTER TWO  
****Early Years**

Nigel was allergic to horses – "Fire in the Sky"

"Treasure Island" was an episode of "Relic Hunter"

Nigel's father told him the story of St Gabriel – "Set in Stone"

Nigel's father broke his mother's favourite lamp – "Set in Stone"

Nigel knew quite a bit about gangsters, particularly Al Capone – "Smoking Gun"

Nigel hated loud noises – In almost every show he covers his ears when there is any loud noise, particularly shooting!

Nigel's had a lot of knowledge of Tommy Guns – "Smoking Gun"

Nigel had piano lessons with Mrs Latrease who had a moustache! – "The Royal Ring"

Preston had to have piano lessons too – "The Royal Ring"

Preston won first prize and Nigel won third, at the Porter Highland Piano Competition; which was held every year in Bath – "The Royal Ring"

Nigel was always reading – Many episodes 

Nigel was very shy – Many episodes

Nigel liked crumpets from Marks and Spencer – "So Shall It Be"

Nigel was always falling asleep on trains – Several episodes

Nigel played Football (a little soccer) – "The Book of Love"

Nigel got giddy being up high – Several episodes including "Buddha's Bowl", "Headless Nun" and "Vanishing Act"

Nigel mentioned cricket – "Diamond in the Rough"

Nigel always wanted to paint and mentioned this to his father – "Possessed"

**CHAPTER THREE  
****Growing Up**

Nigel was always embarrassed when talking about sexual matters – "Affaire De Coeur**"** Several other episodes 

Nigel saw the deformed skeleton of John Merrick; The Elephant Man – "Executioner's Mask"

Nigel disliked skeletons – Several episodes he pulled a face and turned away from them quite often.

Nigel hated seeing dead bodies –"Sydney at 10" plus a few other episodes

The geese pecked at Nigel's fingers – "Sydney at 10" and "Don't go Into the Woods"

Nigel was a Boy Scout and Preston was an Eagle Scout – "Devil Doll"

Nigel broke his ankle – "Devil Doll"

Doing the Sunday Times Crossword. Nigel mentioned how the clues for this were set out – "Deadline" 

Nigel believed he was useless at mathematics – "Out of the Past"

**CHAPTER FOUR  
****Sad Times**

Boarding School was first mentioned in – "Executioner's Mask"

Nigel hated Preston calling him Podge – "The Royal Ring" and "Fountain of Youth"

Nigel and Preston grew up in a large house full of antiques – "The Royal Ring"

It was never mentioned how Nigel and Preston's parent's died, but they had passed on. (Preston hardly changed anything in the house out of respect) – "The Royal Ring"

Nigel had a working knowledge of geology – "Dagger of Death"

Nigel suffered with Middle Ear Syndrome – "Treasure Island"

Scar on his right shoulder/scar on his chest – You can see his shoulder scar quite clearly – "Buddha's Bowl" (climbing up the Buddha) "Smoking Gun" (in the shower) "Thank you very Much" (at the laundry) "Diamond in the Rough" (waking up in Sydney's suite – extremely clear!) "Etched in Stone" (at the nude spa). These are real scars that Christien Anholt has. He also has one on the back of his right hand.

**CHAPTER FIVE  
****Boarding School**

Nigel hated boarding school – "Executioner's Mask"

Nigel enjoyed astronomy – "Nine Lives"

Nigel called his headmistress "The Dragon Lady" – "Executioner's Mask"

Nigel lived in perpetual fear of the headmistress at boarding school – "Sydney at 10"

Nigel loved the fog – "Headless Nun"

Nigel was often beaten at boarding school – "Sydney at 10"

**CHAPTER SIX  
****Oxford**

Nigel Attended Oxford University – "Hunting with the Enemy" – "Three Rivers Cross" and "The Royal Ring". (Nigel said he attended Cambridge in "Buddha's Bowl" but I chose just to use Oxford which was mentioned three times at least)

Nigel lived a secluded life – "Buddha's Bowl"

Nigel made sure it was known he was heterosexual! (not gay!) – "The Irish Crown Affair", "Thank you Very Much" and "After Life and Death"

Nigel protested against Chabot, the pharmesuitical company, at college – "Deadline"

Nigel wore his spectacles at the end of his nose – all episodes

Nigel wrote three papers on Henry VIII, at Oxford – "The Royal Ring"

Nigel was an expert in ancient civilisations and conversant in a dozen languages – "Dagger of Death"

Nigel knew lots about the Aztecs – "Devil Doll"

Amanda Reardon (Nigel's first girlfriend) appeared in "The Royal Ring"

Anthony Kenwallada (Tony – Nigel's "friend" at Oxford) appeared in "Diamond in the Rough"

Nigel was almost carded (age checked) – "Wages of Sydney"

Nigel played darts – "The Irish Crown Affair"

Tony made lots of money – "Diamond in the Rough"

Nigel's nickname was Pooh Bear – "The Royal Ring"

Tony said to Nigel "give my love to your mum" – (This was very odd as Nigel's mother was dead in the show! (an error on the part of the script writers). However, I have explained this in my story) – "Diamond in the Rough"

Nigel enjoyed a Pimms Cup with cucumber – "Flag Day"

Nigel called Amanda Pigeon – "The Royal Ring"

The pen pot on Nigel's desk held his Union Jack flag – several episodes

Amanda loved Nigel's naïve qualities – "The Royal Ring"

Anthony Cureton was Preston's boss at the British Museum – "The Royal Ring"

Nigel and Preston both wanted the job at the British Museum – "The Royal Ring"

Preston competed with Nigel – "The Royal Ring" and "Fountain of Youth"

**CHAPTER SEVEN  
****America**

Nigel had already gone when Amanda realised she loved him – "The Royal Ring"

Nigel won a prize at the All Schools Competition in Bath (public speaking) "Fountain of Youth"

Nigel saw on the Application Form, when he applied for the position of teaching assistant to Sydney Fox, that some travel would be involved (he ticked the box) - "Buddha's Bowl"

All Nigel wanted was a nice little teaching job – "Buddha's Bowl" – "Cross of Voodoo" – "Wages of Sydney"

Nigel was doing his masters – "Three Rivers Cross"

Underwear covered in strawberries – Nigel said (to cover up his embarrassment) his mum (who was dead since he was 12) gave them to him (I chose Alice Bally) – "The Warlord"

Union Jack – Always on Nigel's desk

**CHAPTER EIGTHT  
****Trinity and Sydney**

Nigel had a nightmare about the spear being thrown at him by Sydney – "Three Rivers Cross"

Nigel was shy about his body – "Buddha's Bowl", "Smoking Gun", "Thank You Very Much" and "Etched in Stone" - several others too!

Tony apparently made lots of money – "Diamond in the Rough"

Nigel lied about being a professor and Sydney being his assistant – "Diamond in the Rough"

**CHAPTER NINE  
****Surprising Events**

Nigel mentioned he bought his clothes from "Banana Republic" - "After Life and Death"

Nigel/Christien Anholt is left handed.

Nigel was self-conscious about his body – many episodes 

Nigel was beaten at school – "Sydney at 10"

Nigel mentioned "Lusty Leather Girls" – "The Book of Love"

**CHAPTER TEN  
****Girls and Relic Hunting**

Nigel was studying for his masters - "Three Rivers Cross".

Nigel said he needed to do some more upper body work at the gym "Last of the Mochicas".

Nigel cried (well almost) in the back of the truck – "Last of the Mochicas"

Nigel was allergic to horses – "Fire in the Sky"

Nigel suffered from motion sickness and fear of heights – "Buddha's Bowl", "Headless Nun", "Vanishing Act" and "The Emperor's Bride"

Nigel thought Sydney worried about him too much (when it suited him to think that!) "After Life and Death"

Nigel needed to stop the car to go to the bathroom – "Don't Go Into the Wood"

**CHAPTER ELEVEN  
****The Past Revealed**

Nigel purchased some very expensive boots to wear on relic hunts "Pandora's Box"

Nigel was scared of skeletons but was getting better – Several episodes

Nigel was reluctant to go back to London to visit Preston's office "The Royal Ring"

If Preston ever came to Sydney with clues to find another relic, she doubts she'll turn him down – he did come to her "Fountain of Youth"

**From Chapter eight onwards the story followed the episodes but I added extra scenes and some different interpretations. If you haven't seen the show for a long time you may not remember which were actually shown and which I made up so here goes, although I may have missed some:-**

**CHAPTER EIGHT  
****Trinity and Sydney**

Contained an extra scene in the monastery where Nigel thought about his life, family and friends. In the show we only see Nigel arriving and speaking on the phone to Sydney and Claudia – "Headless Nun"

The scene where Nigel, Amanda and Tony spoke before the hunt for the baseball glove was not in the show (but this scene shows how devious Amanda was becoming!) - "Diamond in the Rough" (I do realise that Nigel was supposed to have mentioned the glove at dinner, but that didn't quite fit my story!)

The scene where Sydney shoves Nigel in the lift and then shoves him into his bedroom to give him a good telling off was completely made up - "Diamond in the Rough"

**CHAPTER NINE  
****Surprising Events**

The long scene where Sydney looked after Nigel when he had yellow fever was completely made up, as was most of this chapter

Preston said in "The Royal Ring" that Sydney was a bit of a legend – that's why he told Nigel he had heard of her.

The scene at the nude spa where Nigel got the umbrella and backed up towards Sydney was actually in the show and there would have been no way that Sydney wouldn't have seen Nigel naked! Watch it, you'll see – no I don't mean you'll see Nigel nude (never mind!) just that Sydney would have seen him! – "Etched in Stone"

**CHAPTER TEN  
****Girls and Relic Hunting**

The scene on the plane where Sydney confronted Nigel about his comment about "Lusty Leather Girls" was made up – "The Book of Love"

Meeting Mika after she finished work at the restaurant, and spending time with her, was completely made up - "Etched in Stone". Nigel did, however, come limping into the office holding his groin in "The Book of Love" episode, and he did tell Sydney what page he had used from the book! I just interpreted it differently.

The scenes with Molly and Garrett O'Donnell were from "The Irish Crown Affair". Most of that was in the show but not when Nigel has his first date with Molly. The second date that Nigel had with Molly (and Garrett) was partly from the show; however, the date itself was made up.

Sydney quite often left Nigel behind when she went relic hunting, such as the hunt for the crown, just before they searched for the body of Sister Evangeline. She also left him behind when she looked for "The Eyes of Toklamanee". She left him at Trinity when she did the TV show "Women Want to Know" and when she took Claudia to Egypt in "Out of the Past" plus on "Mr Right" and "MIA".

The first parts of the scenes with Nicole were influenced entirely by the "Love Letters" episode. I have added a little bit to the story myself. When Nicole came to America; that was completely made up.

The part of the story with Cate was a complete mix of my imagination and the "Last of the Mochicas" episode.

The part with Devereaux was another complete mix of my imagination and "Cross of Voodoo".

The later part of this chapter with Cate was a further mix of my imagination and what happened on the "MIA" episode.

The actress who plays Cate is actually five years older than Christien (Nigel) but in my story Nigel is younger than Christien, so there is quite a gap in their ages.

**CHAPTER ELEVEN  
****The Past Revealed**

The part where Claudia shows how to open Cleopatra's jewellery box was in the show but most of the scene where the accountant comes on to Nigel is made up - "Out of the Past".

The scenes with Nigel in the cell, having been captured by Tsarlov, were made up. Anything with Sydney though was from the show itself - "Run Sydney Run".

The scenes where Claudia and Sydney speak to Preston on the phone were as seen in the show "The Royal Ring", with my bits of the story intertwined in it. Obviously the bits about Tony, and some of the things about Amanda, are completely made up.

Almost everything between the time when Nigel visited his nanny to the end of the story are completely made up, although the scene in Preston's office, where the brothers say goodbye to each other, is partly from "The Royal Ring" but mostly my imagination.

In that chapter I didn't want anyone to really hate Preston but I wanted Nigel to have mixed feelings about Preston because in series three he rather disliked him but also felt sorry for him and tried to help him at the end.

**PARTS OF THE STORY WERE FROM MOVIES OR FROM PERSONAL OR FAMILY/FRIEND'S EXPERIENCES**

The scene in the doctors where Preston got mad at the doctor for hurting his baby brother came from my niece and nephew – that actually happened! My nephew really gave the doctor a piece of his mind when he hurt his baby sister by giving her an injection!

My husband had the ride on an elephant at London Zoo, as a child, like Preston did.

The scene with the matches was similar to an incident that occurred when I was a children's nanny. It didn't quite happen the way I wrote it, but it was close! A lot of the nanny bits came from my own experiences (although the girls I looked after were regular little girls, not geniuses).

The bully at school, who kicked Nigel, came from what happened in a class that I was once in.

The Wills of Nigel and Preston's parents were written as they are where I work (2010); at a solicitor's office.

When Nigel gets beaten by those prefects the idea came from the movie "If" starring Malcolm McDowell – that scene was horrible!

The scene at Nigel's parent's graveside was from my own experience of losing both parents within 14 months of each other.

The theme park scenes are from my own experiences. I have been to many of them, including Disneyland, Disney World, Magic Mountain, Knott's Berry Farm etc etc. I've seen many people throw up when they came off the rides!

**RESEARCH CARRIED OUT**

In order to make this story work I not only needed to do some research on the 66 episodes of Relic Hunter but also on what it is like in hospital when you have a baby (I've never had one!), allergies, The Elephant Man, Al Capone, yellow fever and Inferiority/Superiority complexes! Lots of other bits and pieces too!

**CAST OF CHARACTERS**

**The story contains many characters which I have listed below.  
To be clear, any name in bold which is underlined is a Relic Hunter character, any name just in bold was a real person depicted in the show – any other names, such as Emily and Jonathan Bailey, are my own characters.**

Emily Bailey – Was Nigel and Preston's mother.

Jonathan Bailey – Was Nigel and Preston's father.

**Preston Bailey** (Peton) – He was Nigel's brother.

Louisa Wright (Nanny/Nana) – She was Nigel and Preston's nanny; previously a nanny to Jonathan Bailey's sister and housekeeper to Jonathan's parents.

Joan Bailey – Was Jonathan's mother – Nigel and Preston's grandmother – who had passed on before Nigel was born.

Miranda Bailey – Was Jonathan's sister – Nigel and Preston's aunt – who died of leukaemia before either of them was born.

Doctor Pine – Was Emily's obstetrician who brought cute little Nigel into the world.

Nigel – Was Jonathan's cousin who Nigel Bailey was named after.

**Nigel Bailey** (Podge) – This is his "life Story". He became Sydney Fox's teaching assistant.

Doctor Price – Was the Bailey' family doctor, who caused Nigel's fear of doctors.

Frederick – Was Louisa Wright's brother and adopted uncle to Nigel and Preston.

Mrs Jenkins – Was the lady who ran the stables where the Baileys´ were going to do pony trekking.

Mrs Latrease – Was Nigel and Preston's piano teacher (who had a moustache)

Mr Jarvis – Was the Headmaster of Nigel's first school, St John's.

Mrs Jarvis – Was the Headmaster's wife and part time secretary at St John's School.

Miss Jackson – Was Nigel's first teacher at St John's School.

Mr Lewis – Was the Teacher who taught the 13 year olds at St John's School.

David – Was the 8 year old classmate of Nigel's who handed round the books in Miss Jackson's class.

Jake – Was the naughty 8 year old classmate who kicked Nigel on his first day at St John's School

Thomas – Was the 8 year old classmate who tattled on Jake for kicking Nigel at St John's School

**John Merrick – the Elephant Man** – Preston took Nigel to see his bones at the Royal London Archives Museum.

Mr Lott – Was the Headmaster of St Bartholomew's School where Nigel wanted to go instead of boarding school.

Sally – Was Preston's girlfriend who was at the house when the police called to tell Preston and Nigel about the death of their parents.

Sergeant Matthews – Was the policeman with the curly moustache who told Preston and Nigel about the death of their parents.

Mr Middleton – Was the Bailey family lawyer who read out Jonathan and Emily's Wills.

Mr Jones – Was one of the school teachers at St John's who took Nigel to the Lake District.

Mr Dix – Was the other school teacher at St John's who took Nigel to the Lake District.

Clive Green – Was the horrible teacher who sexually assaulted Nigel at the Cavendish Academy.

Nurse Hays – Was the nurse at the Cavendish Academy who attended to Nigel after he had been sexually assaulted.

Mrs Bixby "the Dragon Lady" – Was the Headmistress at the Cavendish Academy, Nigel's boarding school. She terrified Nigel.

Mr Drake – Was a teacher at the Cavendish Academy. He was also Mrs Bixby's brother.

Giles Fulford – Was the Prefect with large muscles who beat Nigel so severely at the Cavendish Academy – who had also been sexually assaulted by Clive Green.

Nurse Lester – Was the nurse at the Cavendish Academy who treated Nigel after he had been so brutally beaten by Fulford.

Jacob Irons – Was one of Nigel's teachers at the Cavendish Academy who helped get Nigel into Oxford University.

Professor George Bally – Was Nigel's guardian who took care of him at Oxford. Nigel called him Uncle George and Nigel loved him.

Alice Bally – Was Nigel's other guardian and wife of Professor George Bally who looked after Nigel like a mother. Nigel called her Aunty Alice and he loved her.

Mellissa and Caroline – Were two students from Oxford who studied with Nigel and took him on a protest march

**Amanda Reardon** – Was Nigel's first girlfriend who later became a crook and tried to steal the royal ring of Anne Boleyn.

**Anthony Kenwallada** (Tony) – Was Nigel's "friend" at Oxford who was also Amanda's friend. He shared a house with Amanda in London along with Willis and another unscrupulous man. Tonhy was arrested for trying to steal the baseball glove of Jimmy Jonesboro.

Professor Dallow – Was one of Amanda's professors at Oxford who taught psychology.

John Franklin – Was a Director at the British Museum – he was Anthony Cureton's boss.

**Anthony Cureton** – Was the head curator of the British Museum – Preston's boss.

**Professor Sydney Fox** – Was Nigel's beautiful boss and mentor at Trinity College.

Professor Maggs – Was the man who interviewed Nigel for the teaching assistant's position at Trinity College, who hid the true nature of the position from Nigel.

Sherry Harvey – Was the air hostess who Nigel fell in love with. Nigel had his first sexual experience with her. She emigrated to Australia and broke Nigel's heart.

Fred Hart – Was the doorman at Nigel's first apartment. He had a daughter who went shopping with Mika.

**Claudia** – Was Sydney Fox's secretary/assistant at Trinity College who teased Nigel a lot, but liked him too. She called Nigel Honey Bun.

**Aron Tager** – Was the man whose grandfather was framed for murder by Al Capone.

**Al Capone** – Was an American gangster from the 1920s/1930s. Nigel knew a lot about him.

**Lori** – Was the 8th Grade school teacher who Nigel really liked. She was the second woman he slept with. He met her while he was in Chicago looking for Al Capone's gun.

**Elvis Presley** – Was a famous singer. Sydney and Nigel looked for his guitar.

**Sister Evangeline** – Was a nun whose head was decapitated in the 1600s. Sydney and Nigel looked for her body to bury with her head!

**Frank Newhouse** – Was the baseball player who wanted to find the baseball glove of Jimmy Jonesboro.

**Jimmy Jonesboro** – Was a famous baseball player.

**Derek Lloyd** – Was a United States Government Agent – Section Nine. He "forced" Sydney to help him find a Paracelsus Scroll (he already had one of them).

Doctor John Baines – Was Sydney's doctor who became Nigel's doctor and friend who helped him with his nightmares

Miss Juke – Was Jacob Iron's secretary at the Cavendish Academy.

Dave – Was a student who Sydney hired to prepare the classrooms while Nigel was sick with yellow fever. He stayed on at the college for a short time to help Nigel while he recuperated.

Suzy – Was Sydney's temporary teaching assistant who stood in for Nigel while he was ill.

**Stewie Harper** – Was a rival relic hunter who wanted to find the Rune Stone of Jann the Bold, he was a sort of lovable rogue.

**Mika** – Was the beautiful waitress in the Viking Restaurant who became a good friend to Nigel and visited him in America – she was unnamed in the show but her real name was Mika!

**Roberto** – Was the football player who wanted to find Casanova's "Book of Love".

**Molly**– Was Sydney's friend and the girl that Nigel fell for in Ireland who dumped him for Garrett O'Donnell – twice! Was she mad or what!

**King Brian Boru** – Was a past King of Ireland

**Shaun Bolger** – Was Molly's supposed Internet friend.

**Garrett O'Donnell** – Was the man whose ancestors' were wrongly accused of being traitors to the King; Garrett stole Molly from Nigel – twice!

**Nicole** – Was a French student who Nigel tried to "sleep" with while he and Sydney visited France. She visited Nigel in America but because she didn't like it there, preferring to live in France; she dumped Nigel. Her loss I think!

Mark Lane – Was a retired archaeologist who asked Sydney to hunt for the Mochica Vessel.

**Cate Hemphill** – Was an Interpol Agent who Nigel fell in love with. She broke his heart – a lot!

**Hans Lubeck** – Was an elderly man who Sydney and Nigel met when their plane went down in Peru. Nigel liked him a lot but unfortunately he was killed; Nigel was devastated.

**Auguste Devereuax** – Was an evil man who practiced Voodoo – the first man Nigel ever killed; he stabbed him in the heart with a cross to save Sydney's life.

**Edward Patel** – Was the leader of the Cult of Kali – who kidnapped Sydney.

**Cleopatra **– Was a past Queen of Egypt. Sydney took Claudia to Egypt to look for Cleopatra's necklace and left Nigel behind to deal with the accountant from hell.

**Maxine Schneider** – Was the accountant who assaulted Nigel in the office at Trinity College.

Professor Yates – was the woman who rescued Nigel when he was being assaulted by Maxine.

**Adam Grant** – Was the young graduate student who asked Sydney to hunt for the Eyes of Toklamanee.

**Tzarlov** – Was the Russian man who imprisoned Sydney and Nigel so that he could later hunt them down. He beat Nigel quite badly.

**Tatiana (Tessie)** – Was the girl prisoner at Tzarlov's house who escaped with Nigel and later came to America to visit him and Sydney.

**Anne Boleyn** – Was one of Henry VIII's wives who had a ring that Sydney and Nigel went hunting for, with Preston.

**Henry VIII** – Was a past King of England who hid Ann Boleyn's ring that Sydney, Nigel and Preston looked for.

**Willis** – Was the man who was in cahoots with Amanda, who tried to steal Anne Boleyn's ring. He also shared a house with Amanda and Tony in London.

Doctor Bick – Was the psychologist who was helping Preston to deal with his past.

**So there you have it a massive project! Please review the story (not this information; unless you particularly want to)**

**If there is anything else you still wish to know about the story, please contact me by sending a private message.**

**BY -****STEAMBOAT**


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